Posted: Friday 28 April 2023, 14:23
Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service is introducing body worn video cameras to help keep crews safe and enhance service delivery to its communities.
From Monday 1 May 2023, body worn video cameras will be worn by Operational Firefighters, Community Safety Officers and Fire Safety Teams to capture both audio and video recording.
This follows an investment of £90,000 in the equipment which will provide the Service with an opportunity to record and learn from challenging incidents, as well as celebrate and share good practice, and record evidence for investigation following fires and other duties.
Firefighters in England and Scotland saw over 3,800 attacks against them between 2015 and 2020, and such attacks risk impacting their mental and physical health.
There have also been instances of attacks on Derbyshire firefighters within this period, and while the cameras will have many uses, it is hoped they will also act as a deterrent against this or provide evidence to support investigations should this occur.
Group Manager David Diggins said: ‘’The benefits body worn video camera footage will bring to the Service can really transform the how we do things. Allowing our crews to continually improve through debriefing and learning will increase the effectiveness of service delivery to our communities. We also believe our communities will support these measures as an effective means to protect our firefighters when they are trying to protect them, their homes, and their businesses.”
The use of body worn video cameras by Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service will be line with Home Office Principles and will be overt, meaning camera wearers will declare when recording is taking place.
All footage obtained will be managed appropriately and be compliant with general data protection regulations.
