20,000 London police to wear body cams by early next year

[dub]

http://www.engadget.com/2015/06/03/london-police-body-cameras/

 

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson has today announced plans to supply the majority of Metropolitan Police officers with roughly 20,000 body-worn cameras within the next ten months. Like other law enforcement agencies, particularly in the US, London police have been conducting a formal trial of the devices, said to be the biggest of its kind, for the past year. This body-cam beta test, which currently generates around 6,000 video clips each month, is due to complete this summer, but already the hardware has shown promise in on-the-fly evidence collection and improving trust where officer accountability is paramount, such as in stop-and-search scenarios.

The original plan was to distribute 20,000 cameras to officers over a ten-year period, but today that commitment has been vastly accelerated, with an aim to complete the roll-out by April 2016. Should everything proceed as planned -- there are several pending evaluations and reports that'll shape police procedure -- it would make London's police force the most camera-adorned of any city in the world. We have a reputation to maintain, after all.

[Badman]

No surprise there with the UK being big brother capital of the world 

[Mizchif]

Is this not a good thing?

 

I don't know actually its a good question

[dub]

I'd say yes, its a good thing. Definitely should be mandatory for the armed police, and the riot police.

[Mame Biram Diouf]

What potential cons could come from this?

[dub]

Potential: well if police are worried about what they're doing (because who really knows the law, right?) they might end up not acting where they should.

 

I don't think that should deter against the surveillance of police though.

[Drift]

In before officers camera was not working

You already know

[YFSD]

Police I have dealt with have been using them for a while now

[O Fenomeno]

In before officers camera was not working

You already know

Or he forgot to switch it back on before he went out on duty

[Heero Yuy]

 

In before officers camera was not working

You already know

 

 

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