A number of Barrow Council officers are set to be issued with body-worn cameras this month in an effort to clamp down on the frequent verbal abuse and aggressive behaviour they are subjected to.
The devices will also provide evidence to help the local authority tackle issues such as litter and with investigations into complaints made by members of the public.
The council’s eight-strong Safe and Strong enforcement team is, in addition, due to be given made-to-measure body armour and radios.
The measures are among those being backed by more than £10,500 from the Government’s Safer Streets Fund.
The body cams are to be discussed by a meeting of the borough council’s executive committee on Wednesday.
A report produced ahead of the meeting says that enforcement officer work often involves a ‘high level’ of exposure to public confrontation.
The document, authored by Caroline Wagstaff, head of people and communities at the borough council, says it has been demonstrated that behaviour is ‘far less likely’ to become physically or verbally abusive when people are aware they are being recorded.
“Body-worn video devices are not designed to replace traditional forms of collecting evidence, such as written statements and interview, but to complement and support them,” says Ms Wagstaff.
The work of the Safe and Strong team, which was established in April 2022, includes dealing with antisocial behaviour and environmental issues such as fly-tipping and littering.
Ms Wagstaff says Barrow Council enforcement officers have not been physically assaulted but are frequently subjected to verbal abuse and aggressive behaviour when issuing fixed penalty notices.
It is stressed in Ms Wagstaff’s report that the eight body cams are only to be used on an incident specific basis.
An incident has a number of definitions, says the report.
It can be an engagement with a member of the public that, in the opinion of the enforcement officer, is confrontational or where the officer believes they may be subjected to physical or verbal abuse.
It can refer to a situation in which the officer is approached by a member of the public in a manner perceived as aggressive or threatening.
It can also mean an instance where an enforcement officer witnesses cases such as littering or fly-tipping.
Enforcement officers will be expected to announce when body cams are in use or are about to be turned on, while the devices will have labels indicating they are used for video and audio recording.
In her report, Ms Wagstaff advises the committee to agree to the implementation of body-worn video devices and radios.
