Police Scotland completes roll out of body worn video technology

There are now 16,000 users of body worn video across the Police Scotland service. Body worn video is now an important addition to a police officer’s kit and the cameras are now the force’s extra eyes and ears when keeping communities safe.

On Tuesday (22 September), the final set of cameras and technology went live to specialist officers in Edinburgh, The Lothians and Scottish Borders, Forth Valley and Fife divisions.

Photo / video: Police Scotland

Custody staff, roads policing, CID, Public Protection Unit (PPU), dog handlers and the mounted unit are now using the devices across the force.

In addition, Public Enquiry Support Assistants (PESAs), Safety Camera Partnership Officers and the Firearms and Explosives Licensing Officers (FELOs) in post across the Force will deploy the cameras when interacting with the public.

How the introduction of body worn technology benefits the police, the public and the criminal justice system

Since taking command in October 2023, Chief Constable Jo Farrell has prioritised the introduction of body worn video.

BWV is one of a number of projects and programmes that are ongoing to transform justice internally and across the partnership environment to improve the victim experience, reduce time involved and promote case resolution at the earliest opportunity.

Chief Inspector Simon Shanks said: “The national roll out of body worn video has been a key priority and it contributes to our vision of safer communities, less crime, supported victims and a thriving workforce.

“Since its introduction the cameras and technology are helping to de-escalate incidents, improve public trust in policing and reduce complaints, as well as support officer and staff safety and bring wider benefits to the criminal justice system.”

Photo: Police Scotland

From its initial deployment, more than 1.9 million recordings have been captured and over 112,000 incidents have been created of which 53,000 (47%) containing BWV footage have been shared with COPFS. (Data as at 13 September 2026)

Why the presence of BWV is proving to be reassuring and helping to improve safety

Chief Inspector Simon Shanks added: “We are starting to see that the presence of BWV is helping to reduce the number of reported officer assaults and that the footage is helping to see complaints about police resolved or even written off due to the footage that is recorded of the interaction with the public.

“Early feedback suggests that officers feel more confident performing their duties knowing digital recordings can be used as evidence if required, especially in instances of malicious complaints.

“It reassures the public too and has shown to de-escalate potentially volatile situations when offenders realise they are being recorded and the recording can be submitted as evidence during any criminal justice process.”

The footage may be used as evidence but it will not replace existing procedures and requirements when gathering all available information. It will remain a matter for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) to review and determine competence on a case-by-case basis.

Video footage will be uploaded to secure police systems and the evidence will be shared with the COPFS using the Digital Evidence Sharing Capability (DESC) system.

The introduction of body worn video is not intended to encourage the greater use of single police officer deployments or alter current deployment models for policing in Scotland.