Police in Melbourne’s northeast and country Victoria first in line for body-worn cameras
POLICE in Melbourne’s northeast and country Victoria will be the first to get hi-tech body cameras with up to 200 devices to be issued.
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POLICE in Melbourne’s northeast and country Victoria will be the first to get hi-tech body cameras.
Up to 200 of the devices will be rolled out in divisions surrounding Diamond Creek and Ballarat in April.
Their use will be evaluated before a decision on a statewide rollout of around 7500 cameras by June 2020.
General duties police and selected specialist units, including those responding to family violence, will initially receive the cameras.
Tender documents state Victoria Police believes the tech advancement will provide “better and more efficient” justice outcomes because evidence gathering and corroboration of evidence will be streamlined. It also says the cameras will make interactions between police and the public more transparent — boosting accountability and safety of members.
The tender documents state cameras will be particularly useful in handling cases of family violence.
“Victoria Police members are responding to more incidents of crime against the person, more serious crime and more family violence incidents,’’ the documents state.
“Victoria Police are an important part of the frontline response and are often the first point of contact for family violence victims and taking steps to ensure the safety of victims.
“This can extend to issuing family violence safety notices or seeking family violence intervention orders on behalf of victims, arresting perpetrators and investigating family violence related crimes.”
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The state government last month announced it would introduce laws so police could use body-worn cameras in their duties.
It could be an offence under existing legislation if police inadvertently record a private conversation.
Victoria Police spokeswoman Sophie Jennings said there was potential for body-worn cameras to be a beneficial tool in the response to and management of family violence incidents.
“Capture of the family violence related crime scenes and the immediacy of victim and perpetrator statements could improve the judicial process and reduce the impact of the justice process on victims by allowing them to make statements at the time of first police attendance,’’ Ms Jennings said.
Police in several other jurisdictions are already equipped with the technology.