Met's body worn video pilot extended to firearms command
Following on from the roll-out of the trial on 10 London boroughs announced earlier this year, the unit has been chosen to extend the pilot of the new video technology in London, which is thought to be the largest trial in the world of the use of such technology by police.
Trials for the use of the camera by firearms officers took place in the training environment at Bridgend (March 2014) with South Wales Police and at Gravesend (April 2014) in the MPS.
The results of these fed into a list of operational and technical requirements for the industry to assist in the development and production of devices suited to the armed policing environment.
The operational pilot, which started on 7 August, will build on the requirements identified during the trials and initially involves one proactive team wearing the cameras and recording footage that can then be used as evidence in police investigations.
The TPU will pilot various camera mounting options. The cameras will be used as part of day-to-day policing but not at this stage for covert policing.
The main Body Worn Video Camera pilot for response officers in 10 boroughs is anticipated to last until the end of the financial year and will be evaluated by the Mayor’s Office for Policing And Crime (MOPAC) and the College of Policing will be providing advice before any decision about a future roll-out is made.
This pilot forms part of a wider trial, led by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) which includes the MPS operational pilot with the TPU, while operational trials with forces in South Wales are set to commence on the 15th September 2014 with their Armed Response Vehicle (ARV) unit.
The pilot will be used to assess a number of outcomes including: criminal justice outcomes, complaints against police, use of force by police, amount of time saved in administration tasks and the impact on public confidence through the use of cameras.
Commissioner Sir Bernard-Hogan-Howe said: “This is the next step towards us improving our policing service to Londoners through the use of technology. It allows us to be more open and accountable to the public we serve.”
