Domestic abuse body cameras for Essex cops

ESSEX Police is taking the national lead on a trial in which officers will wear body-worn video cameras to incidents of domestic abuse.

As part of the three-month trial, 80 officers from response and patrol will be given a camera and expected to have it turned on whenever they attend a domestic abuse incident.

Chief Inspector Nick Lee, from response and patrol, who is leading the implementation of the cameras, said the trial will use equipment already owned by the force, but will focus its use in a new way. The expectation is that the cameras will improve the quality of evidence gathered at such incidents.

“We want to find out if video evidence will lead to more convictions for domestic violence and in particular cases where victims are too frighten to give evidence themselves,” he said.

Researchers from the College of Policing, who will be working closely with the force, will look at the results of the video-captured cases compared to those that have no video evidence.

“This is a great opportunity for Essex Police to lead the way in evidence-based policing and improve our approach to tackling domestic abuse,” said Ch Insp Lee.

Rachel Tuffin, head of research and analysis at the College of Policing, said the results will help chief officers and police and crime commissioners to decide how best to use this technology locally across the 43 forces in England and Wales.

Nick Alston, police and crime commissioner for Essex, has said he fully supports using technology to “help ensure that there is no hiding place for those who commit domestic abuse”.

He added: “For complex and varied reasons, victims of domestic abuse are sometimes reluctant to give evidence against the person who has caused them harm.

“Equipping officers attending domestic abuse incidents with body-worn cameras means that evidence will often be captured automatically and directly.”