Helmet-Cams for British Cops

The Home Office is to provide £3m to equip police forces across the country with head camera technology, following successful trials in Plymouth.

It said an evaluation of the pilot run by Devon and Cornwall Constabulary showed that, compared with incidents when the cameras were not used, the body worn video devices led to an increase in the number of convictions of offenders. Their footage provided clear evidence that made it difficult for offenders to deny their involvement, leading to less paperwork for the police, earlier guilty pleas, less time spent in court and an increase in convictions.

For the year long pilot 300 Plymouth police officers were trained to use any of the 50 cameras available during day and night patrols. The evaluation found that violent crime was reduced by 8% in the pilot sectors, compared to a 1% reduction across other sectors. The number of incidents in which people were wounded were reduced by 18% in pilot areas of the city, compared to no change in other areas.

Plymouth police using the new technology increased their detection of violent crime by 40% and arrests for violent crime went up by 85%.