All frontline Gold Coast cops, now equipped with body worn cameras
Every single frontline uniformed police officer on the Gold Coast now has a body worn camera. And the footage they are capturing is stunning. SEE THE VIDEO
Police & Courts
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IN a big step for evidence collection and police accountability, frontline uniformed officers on the Gold Coast now all have body worn cameras.
The Bulletin has obtained never seen before vision of tense situations caught on the cameras across the Coast, showing how important the tool is as an evidence gatherer and in these instances showing the necessary use of force to contain the situations.
The vision shows officers putting themselves at risk to capture alleged offenders and in two of the instances using their tasers to take a person into custody.
Gold Coast Chief Superintendent Mark Wheeler said the footage shot during arrests and normal run of the day business is invaluable.
“It allows officers to collect evidence in a really efficient manner and often that evidence is irrefutable, because it’s caught on camera,” he said.
“We also find, anecdotally, is that when members of the public know that body worn cameras have been activated, it can change their behaviour and that gives us better outcomes.
“Being able to resolve complaints against police is much more streamlined in that we are able to view the footage, make a determination quickly, because that evidence is irrefutable.”
Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said the rollout of body worn cameras for all frontline officers on the Gold Coast would greatly assist in dealing with serious incidents such as alcohol-fuelled violence and domestic and family violence through enhanced evidence gathering.
“The clarity of real time footage cannot only facilitate a quicker resolution to criminal investigations but also provides police officers and the public with confidence that evidence is being recorded without prejudice,” Commissioner Carroll said.
“This now increases the Queensland Police Service body worn camera fleet to 7700 devices across the state by the middle of the year.”
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Police Minister Mark Ryan said it was a big investment by the state government.
“The Queensland Police Service is world class and the government is backing our police with the technology and resources they need,” Mr Ryan.
“The investment in body worn cameras means every uniformed front line responder across the state will have this important technology.
“I am pleased to see that every front line officer on the Gold Coast now has a body worn camera.
“With over 1000 officers permanently based on the Gold Coast this has been a big investment, but worth every cent. Community safety is paramount.”
“The clarity of real time footage can not only facilitate a quicker resolution to criminal investigations but also provides police officers and the public with confidence that evidence is being recorded without prejudice.”
Queensland Police Union South Eastern Region Representative Andy Williams welcomed the rollout of body worn cameras to all frontline police.
“The QPU were the ones who sought and gained the commitment from the Palaszczuk Government for this rollout to happen and I thank Mark Ryan and Katarina Carroll for delivering on this commitment,” he said.
“We have always said body worn cameras are the modern equivalent of the old police notebook and they should be treated as an absolutely essential accoutrement for all frontline first response police”.
Queensland Police have also launched a new platform for members of the public or businesses to directly share footage as part of an investigation.
“For instance, where we normally drive to a petrol station to collect footage from an offence and they download it on to a disc or USB, we just send them an invite which can be sent by text or email, they click on the link and directly upload the footage and it is placed into the file on our system,” Supt Wheeler said.
“It saves a great deal of police time in driving to collect footage.”
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