Met police trial wearing body cameras to 'speed up justice'

Met police are to wear body cameras as part of a one-year pilot scheme designed to boost transparency and to speed up convictions in London.

17:04 08 May 2014

As part of a one-year pilot scheme designed to boost transparency and to up the speed of convictions in London, Met police are to wear cameras on their uniforms. 

 

500 cameras will be distributed across 10 London boroughs starting with Camden. Further trials will be carried out in Barnet, Bexley, Bromley, Brent, Croydon, Ealing, Havering, Hillingdon and Lewisham.

 

Met commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, said that using cameras can significantly discourage unruly behaviour. "Video captures events in a way that can't be represented on paper in the same detail, and it has been shown the mere presence of this type of video can often defuse potentially violent situations without the need for force to be used.” 

 

"Our experience of using cameras already shows that people are more likely to plead guilty when they know we have captured the incident. That speeds up justice, puts offenders behind bars more quickly and protects potential victims.”

 

The move is thought to be the Met's solution after it was widely criticised for the death of 29-year-old Mark Duggan at the hands of armed forces which sparked riots across the country after the killing was declared lawful.