BWV to be rolled out

13 July 2018

All front-line uniformed officers are expected to have access to Body-Worn Video (BWV) by the end of the summer.
Sergeant Will Salt has said the roll-out is on course with Rich Cooke, chair of West Midlands Police Federation, welcoming the news.

“I have used Body-Worn Video as a response officer for some time now. It’s an added protection for our hard-pressed officers, gives members of the public extra confidence and offers excellent evidence which can be used to prosecute criminals more quickly, particularly when they attack or abuse our officers,” he said.

“It has also been shown by academic studies to significantly reduce complaints against officers. I'm really pleased that all our front-line staff will soon have ready access to it.”

PC Rich Chant, a neighbourhood policing officer based at Digbeth where BWV cameras have recently been issued to all officers has also backed the move.

“BWV is a vital piece of kit, we feel long overdue, but all the officers here are really pleased and the feedback from colleagues so far is overwhelmingly positive,” he explained.

The results of the latest survey on routine arming carried out by the Police Federation of England and Wales revealed that 80 per cent of respondents from the West Midlands wanted access to BWV at all times. Only 36 per cent had this access at the time of the survey last year.