…how does it work again?
I am trialling a body cam!
Will let you know how I get on…my first go was fun…
We are always having film crews filming historical drama type stuff where I am add it’s so quaint…:-!
One of the local rats tried to walk through the middle of the set tither day…so I stopped him and received the usual abuse…
So I clicks on my camera…
“what’s that?”, says rat…
“a video…go on what were you saying?”
“err…nothing..I’m going…”
“bye… Bore off…”
Lol
I think IM going to have some fun with this…
Shijuro (nearer Go-juro though...) is not georgedixon's relatively honest Blog 
sounds a good idea, with a little careful practise it will do a great deal to put your case across
you will soon learn how to use it best
the camera never lies
be lovely in court witht he first case, I just hope the magistrates to not become used to it, should save a lot of time with those residents so short of memory !!
Amazing how the scum soon change their demeanor when the red light says “recording” almost as good effect as the red dot from a taser!!!
Gets over the venom in abuse not carried by the typed words on a S9. So long as you are not in the habit of giving ‘warnings and advice in language the scroat would understand’ it is good bit of kit.
Yup… Love it…
Good idea with a camera their can be little dispute in what actually happened. But would you mind explaining why the police are so reluctent to appear on camera’s they do not control
Would you? But seriously… They don’t… Try weaning yourself of the DM
Um they do check youtube for video evidence. Individuals have even been arrested for filming police on public land
Some police… Do you go onto army blogs and write stuff like “when are the army going to stop accidentally shooting people?” … Some people just seem to have issues with anyone telling them what to do…I am human, subject to human faults and failings. Deal.
Why don’t you answer the question? Why were some police officers and pcso’s so upset at being filmed
You know why… Go post on a hate the cops site… There are plenty of them these days…
Who said I hate the cops? Why can you not answer the question?
I have… I won’t be drawn into pointless arguments. You already know the answer.I give you fair warning: any more naughtiness and you will be in the oblivion of the spam queue …
Off topic but a shiney six pence says that before the Easter weekend is over that the utterly tragic death in atherton and tragedies related to chetham school will be blamed on a particular organisation that we may be familiar with.
I personally think that body cams with audio will be a very useful tool indeed. It will protect officers from complaints (provided of course that they remember that the camera is switched on) and should reduce the appalling wastage of resources via civil damages. The equipment does ideally need to be running at all times with the wearer recording orally why they have stalled it. We probably don’t need pictures of breakfast being consumed or or the trip to the bog, but the risk is otherwise that someone will say that the camera was not running when the police were winding someone up but only later when an individual has lost it. Do remember that people become complacent around recording equipment, I see this in custody suites with private conversations taking place etc. We as a society need well equipped, highly skilled, fully motivtaed and properly remunerated officers taking the law to the people. Most officers do an outstanding job, those who do not and sadly they do exist, need to be identified and dealt with because all that they do is to make the job even harder for the rest.
BE makes a good point. The camera does not choose it’s subject, and whilst it may well show the detail of behaviour of an offending party, it is equally likely to show, in all it’s glory, the questionable behaviour of the wearer if such occurs. And obviously, accusations will be made regarding the sequencing and possible editing by turning off at strategic times.
Whilst on this, and a previous thread; yesterday I was seated in my car in a Morrison’s car park. Parked next to me was an empty police vehicle.
Shortly afterwards a rather rotund PCSO returned to the vehicle, she was bearing a large carton of cream and jam scones. She sat in the drivers’ seat with the carton placed open on the dashboard and proceeded to stuff, and I do mean stuff, the scones in her mouth. The cream squeezed out of the sides of the scone and covered her hand wehereupon she began licking her fingers, depositing cream on her nose and chin. None of us appear very elegant when we are eating, however she excelled herself, eating with her cheeks distended and her mouth open. I could have averted my gaze, and indeed good manners might have decreed that I should, however, the specatcle was such that I sat drawn to it. Now the young lady in fact may well have been an excellent example of her kind. Yet at that moment, she removed for me, any vestige of respect I might have had, my friend Dog displays better manners, albeit she had not intended to be observed.
We all have feet of clay, and it behoves us all to try and maintain some dignity especially when in uniform, because, fair or not, no matter that you act as an individual, you are judged all together as The Police. What one does and how one behaves, always reflects on the whole.
It’s as well I didn’t use my phone video as many might have done.
She did nothing wrong, she is entitled to a meal break, but never the less she let us down and needs to have a little pride in her uniform and behaviour in public.
Whilst I am having a POP at my own side……………….
Here’s a message for the PC who had occasion to speak to me a few days ago. Please, please, do you have to chew GUM noisily whilst you speak to me?
SP.
Sorry for the few typos, fat arthritic fingers;
SP
I see the point being made re camera being on all the time.
I disagree. It is a tool, It is their for my useage as I see fit
I agree that questions will be asked about why it was only switched on when things took a turn for the worst, I will answer and justify my useage as I do re every other aspect of my job.
I don’t handcuff everyone,I don’t baton everyone,I don’t expect to film everyone. Each incident/encounter on its merits.
I guarantee it won’t be the cps who want your bodycam footage ruled inadmissible.
Sorry BE.
As above, posted by waveydavey. The slags record selectively and that’s allowed to be shown in court so why can’t we do the same. I’m sure shami will be bleating about human rights somewhere along the line.
I’m all for body cams but I disagree with them recording constantly. If I’m double crewed with a colleague I want to have a private conversation. I have certain views and beliefs which may not be shared by others. These views and beliefs do not affect my work and they do not have any impact on the decisions I make or how I treat people. However I have no doubt that if such conversations were recorded the complaints department would be rubbing their hands together.
During the Stephen Lawrence enquiry one of his parents, I am not sure which said words to the effect of that we all have prejudices but when a police officer takes off their own coat and puts on their police uniform they should leave behind any prejudices which they have. That statement sounded a chord in my head when I read it because it was so accurate, frankly I am surprised that we haven’t heard it repeated more often, rather like that one about policing being too important to be left to the polic alone.
Similarly you should leave those ‘certain views’ which you do not want recorded when you air them, back in your locker with your own coat. You may be right in that those views whatever they are might not affect your decision making processes. Can you be sure about that and can you be sure that your articulation of them to colleagues is not affecting how they behave? To be on the safe side leave those views in your locker or better still in the bin.
Sorry mate disagree. I’m having a private conversation and it should not be recorded, unless the relevant RIPA authority is in place. If I want to have a private, adult conversation with a colleague then I should be able to without the fear of someone being able to listen.
Also you can’t just leave your views or prejudices at home, they are you own thoughts they will always be with you. It’s a case of not letting affect how you police.
If we were to be recorded at all times then we truely will become far more robotic.
The people we work with are more than friends…they become your family…FFS we spend more time with them… We confide…we tell each other stuff about our kids, wives …I don’t want that poured over by some one I didn’t give permission to hear…
If you have views which you do not want your employers to know about then you face some stark choices. You either remain silent about them or you cease to be employed or better still you free yourself of those thoughts.
Ahh…the old Japanese saying: a man has 3-hearts: one for the world; one for his close friends and family…and a secret one he keeps for himself…
Oh and don’t tell me to leave my views in the bin. They are my views but you do not know what they are. Someone once tried to tell an entire country how to think and look how that turned out.
No I don’t but you said that they were something which the rubber heelers would be rubbing their hands together over.
Yes but that could be a wide range if views. I do not hold views which could be racist, sexist homophobic or any other type of ism or ist. I’m not some extreme right wing lunatic. The views I do have though about certain sections of society may upset small groups and I have no doubts standards would turn this against me. I treat everyone fairly and with respect, even the criminals. My views are my own, I have developed them over the years and they are not something which can be dismissed but they never affect how I treat people. I think it’s healthy to discuss views especially on current affairs but because everything you say can be twisted so easily I want these discussions to be private.
For a couple of years before I retired, I carried around a voice activated tape recorder clipped to my belt. It could never be used in court as a prosecution weapon but it was produced on a number of occasions when malicious complaints were made against me over my behaviour or speech when dealing with offenders. The rubber heel squad often made comment that it’s use was not allowed in my defence but I had a good local Fed Rep who argued otherwise. Only one complaint was (sort of) upheld where I had allegedly called a local councillor a cretin. The taped conversation proved that the words I used were “In my opinion, only a cretin would act in that way.” Technology now moves on and I think it will only be for the better.
I’ve used it twice already
Cretinism is a form of disability and it is therefore a very insulting word in the wong context. I in my ignorance was unaware of this until I happened on an article about it and a picture of an unfortunate sufferer. The article was in a book owned by a friend who worked in that field she opined that one very rarely sees cretinism these days.
I take your point BE, but I used the word in the informal sense, i.e. ‘a stupid person’ especially as I had no knowledge of any possible thyroid problem causing mental or physical retardation by the subject. Even common or garden beat PCs can have knowledge of the English language. Fortunately for me, neither the councillor nor C&D were aware of the relative definitions.
Umh well I only posted that to try and help protect officers from complaints and to save damages awarded against police. Those who choose to ignore me will of course do so. Body cams are of course a resource but their use must follow stringent rules which are transparent, if individual officers are allowed to adopt their own rules then many challenges will follow. The activation of the equipment is not the same as the use of force. You are subject to a duty to justify the use of force because the management cannot be alongside you 24/7 to make decisions for you. But when you leave the patrol base on duty the camera must go on and stay on until you return. This is simple stuff and I am surprised that anyone would not fully support the full use of the equipment, or as my clients are sometimes told, if you have nothing to hide you would answer my questions. Similarly if officers have nothing to hide then they will have nothing to fear from Body Cam.
As I said above I don’t want my private conversations recorded. I might talk to a colleague about my past. I wasn’t always a police officer you know and the mistakes I made in the past have made me a better person. I’m not going to go into detail but complaints ( they don’t have any professional standards ) would have a field day.
Also in most conversations people could easily tag some sort or ism or ist label to them when in fact there is not.
I’m for body cams, I’ll turn them on when I get out of a vehicle to deal with something.
Okay well that would be fine, turn them off after you enter the custody area with a prisoner or upon entering if not and whilst in a police vehicle except when you are doing an interview in a police car. Alternatively more work less talk.
Less talk? Morale is low enough eh?
It’s fairly low everywhere, I’m not really against conversation and I don’t want to get sidelined here. I think body cam is an excellent thing but to work it has to be running all the time that an officer is exposed to anything connected to duty except of course eating grub and the call of that other duty. Allowing individual officers to decide when it goes on and off is a recipe for disaster.
I disagree… It has to be that way for lots of reasons: access to confidential information; witness id; personal identity issues…
The cameras we use are activated when we arrive at a job… I switch it on and then record the entire incident…I can’t reply/re wind etc…
I am, of course obliged to tell the people I am dealing with they are being recorded so they have the opportunity to adjust their behaviour-which is what we want eh? The thing is…drunks don’t always listen…
Ah well if they are activated when you arrive to deal with something and it is done by the control room then I have no issues. But someone above thought that it was a tool for him to deploy and when he saw fit.