Wakefield Council staff including parking wardens now wearing body cameras to stop abuse

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Wakefield Council officers working across three frontline services will now wear body worn cameras to deter abusive behaviour and support prosecutions.

Staff working in Environmental Health, Parking Services and Enforcement Services will wear the cameras, including Civil Enforcement Officers (parking wardens), Environmental Health Officers, Night-time Noise Officers, Licensing Enforcement and Building Security Officers.

The purpose of the body worn cameras is to protect staff and the public, to discourage physical, aggressive, abusive and violent behaviour and to provide evidence where required to investigate complaints.

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The footage can also help with prosecutions and to gather evidence during regulatory or enforcement activity.

Council staff working in three frontline services will wear body worn camerasCouncil staff working in three frontline services will wear body worn cameras
Council staff working in three frontline services will wear body worn cameras

The system records video and sound of anyone within view of the camera when it is switched on.

The cameras will be used to record specific events or incidents.

They will not be used to gather large amounts of data. A recording will be stopped once a specific situation or incident has ended. Recordings will be deleted unless required for future investigations.

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Coun Jack Hemingway, Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change, said: “All of our staff deserve to feel safe when doing their job. But it’s a sad fact that incidents of abusive behaviour do sometimes occur.

Officers from Enforcement Services and Environmental Health with councillors Matthew Morley and Jack Hemingway.Officers from Enforcement Services and Environmental Health with councillors Matthew Morley and Jack Hemingway.
Officers from Enforcement Services and Environmental Health with councillors Matthew Morley and Jack Hemingway.

“We take this issue very seriously and the main aim of the body worn cameras is that it will deter assault or abuse of our staff. It’s a bonus that the footage can also be used to capture evidence for use in civil or criminal proceedings.”

The cameras will be visible, so that members of the public will be aware that recording is taking place.

Officers will only turn on the cameras when they feel they need to. And, where practical, will give people a clear verbal warning of their intention to turn on the camera.

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Coun Matthew Morley, Cabinet Member for Planning and Highways, said: “Although we do operate a CCTV system across the district, it cannot see all areas and does not cover the inside of premises where our enforcement teams work. This is often where incidents occur.

“The body worn cameras we have chosen can record both video and audio, with the video quality allowing night-time use in low light. We hope this will make our staff feel even more protected and able to carry out their jobs safely and effectively.”

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