Brooders

Last time we noticed it Traffic Wardens with headmounted Cameras.

Now this time it’s actually the police.

The article Britain to arm bobbies with helmet cams goes into detail:

LONDON — Britain is taking its surveillance to a new level, strapping video cameras to the helmets of its famed bobbies — a move the government says will cut down on paperwork and help prosecute criminals. By providing dramatic footage of victims, suspects and witnesses, judges and jurors will be able to “see and hear the incident through the eyes and ears of the officer at the scene,” Minister of State for Security Tony McNulty said.

I guess this raises similiar questions to the traffic wardens:

1. Will this change the bevahiour of the officers for the better? They know are being watched.
2. In the case of more people’s “word” against the police .. would this video be the ultimate truth ?
3. Would there be an over-reliance on video evidence
4. Who watches the watchers? – Does the public have the right to film the police in the same manner
5. Would a criminal who’d been caught on film resort to extreme violence to destroy the video filming gear and hurt the officer in the progress?

I am not sure the “always on” cop, knowing they’re recording in the public eye, is a good thing. What problem is it solving, reducing paperwork or collecting evidence? I wonder how many things could be taken out of context? Does a defendent have the right for the material to be played in full? Would it be allowed to be edited?

( Via Oreillynet – UK Rolls Out Police Headcams )

This entry was posted on Monday, July 16th, 2007 at 7:18 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.