Southern Highlands police now have an additional strategy to help them tackle crime.
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The NSW Police Force has rolled out ‘Body Worn Video’ cameras across Southern Highlands and The Hume Police District to improve community and officer safety.
Following a successful trial of ‘Body Worn Video’ camera technology in 2013 and 2014, it was first supplied to frontline officers at Sydney’s Eastern Beaches in September 2015.
‘Body Worn Video’ camera technology is now being rolled out to more than 500 sites in metropolitan, regional and rural areas across the state. The cameras, worn overtly on the officers’ uniform, are activated for use in operational policing to record incidents or events in real-time where visual and audio evidence will support an investigation.
The Hume Police District Commander Superintendent Chris Schilt said the cameras would be a positive support and complement other strategies to tackle crime.
“[Body worn video cameras] will play an important part in our ongoing commitment to officer and community safety in the all the towns of the Southern Highlands,” Superintendent Schilt said.
“With millions of interactions between police and community members every year, the cameras will be an excellent tool to assist investigations by directly recording criminal behaviour and providing officers with a contemporaneous, unequivocal account of an incident.”
The ‘M-View Matrix’ camera records high-definition wide-view vision and high-quality audio, with a capability to take still photographs, record audio only and record in low-light situations. The footage is encrypted and safely stored on the camera, and once downloaded onto the secure police database; all footage on the camera is erased.
“I want to reassure the community our officers have received training on the appropriate use of body worn video cameras and members of the public will be informed if the camera is in use,” Superintendent Schilt said.
According to NSW Police, research suggests body worn video camera have several benefits including lower incidence and escalation of violence, improved officer conduct and professionalism, and improved offender behaviour. The cameras also reduce officer injuries, provide video content to use in training and to support improved police education, and improved collection of evidence.
Visit the NSW Police Force website at www.police.nsw.gov.au for more information about body worn video cameras.
With millions of interactions between police and community members every year, the cameras will be an excellent tool to assist investigations by directly recording criminal behaviour and providing officers with a contemporaneous, unequivocal account of an incident.
- The Hume Police District Commander Superintendent Chris Schilt