Police Body Worn Video Experiment

Article Courtesy of - Jasmin McDermott - www.PoliceOracle.com

A project exploring the operational benefits of Body Worn Video (BWV) in freeing up officer time and cutting bureaucracy could instigate changes to parts of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE).

Operation Hyperion is a year-long study assessing the effects and implications of the personal issue of BWV to 183 officers and PCSOs in Hampshire Constabulary up to inspector rank. One camera will be assigned to a specific officer or PCSO for the duration of the project, which will conclude in March 2014.

The project, which is the first of its kind in the country on this scale, will consider the impact BWV has on police complaints, its usefulness in the conclusion of certain crime incidents and implications on the wider criminal justice system.

Researchers from the University of Portsmouth’s Institute of Criminal Justice Studies will independently evaluate the pilot during the year, including how the issuing of the devices has been implemented by the Force and officers’ understanding of the equipment.
Insp Steve Goodier, who is leading the project on the Isle of Wight, believes the evidence, which will be presented to national agencies including the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the College of Policing, could facilitate a wide-ranging change in how statements are taken under PACE.

In an interview with PoliceOracle.com he said: “I strongly believe we could make some small changes to legislation that can have a big impact on officers.

“PACE (Police & Criminal Evidence Act) was written in 1984 at a time when BWV was not around. Under PACE the interview suspects outside of custody on a voluntary basis must be held contemporaneously with the interviewee, which includes a full question-and-answer session and this has to be recorded by the officer in a written format and then signed by the interviewee as a true and accurate record.

“According to the true letter of the law, BWV cannot be used to record the interview so even if officers are wearing it they still need to write the statement which is a laborious and time consuming process.

“We want to look at ways we can use BWV to capture first accounts from people and not take written statements. If we can do this it will free up a lot of time.

“We want to get the legislation changed so that BWV could replace the need for hand written statements from officers when it is likely that an early guilty plea would be entered at court or that the incident could be dealt with a caution or community resolution."

It is hoped the results from the project, which costs £47,500, will form a strong evidence base on the plethora of benefits the devices offer and prove they can contribute significantly to operational policing.

“We want to prove the use of BWV is a viable and cost-effective way of delivering modern policing,” Insp Goodier added.

“We can justify the cost of a camera very quickly in reducing bureaucracy and freeing up police time.”

www.PoliceOracle.com will be reporting on the results of the project when they are available next year and I will update this blog accordingly.