Police / Local police officers to have body-worn cameras by June, meeting hears
POLICE officers in Shetland should be wearing body-worn video cameras by June next year, it has been confirmed.
Chief superintendent Robert Shepherd, who leads the policing across the Highland and Islands, told a meeting of the Shetland community safety and resilience board on Wednesday that this should have a “whole raft” of benefits.
Because they could film footage of incidents, he said it should result in less time in court for officers, while complaints should take less time to deal with.
“Criminals will be easier to lock up with better evidence,” Shepherd added.
He also said Tayside will be the first region in Scotland to receive body worn video equipment for officers, before it is rolled out to the Highlands and Islands.
Shepherd said Police Scotland is the only force in the UK that does not have body worn cameras.
The Police Scotland previously said that “every frontline uniformed police officer including special constables will be expected to wear a video camera on their uniform while on duty and to activate it when using police powers, whether it be a stop and search, an arrest of a suspect or executing a search warrant”.
Meanwhile Shetland police officers receiving training to carry out drug wipe testing on drivers at the roadside has been described as a “big win”.
That is the view of new Shetland area commander chief inspector Chris Sewell, who has hailed the development.
Speaking at Wednesday’s meeting Sewell explained that the drug wipe testing was previously limited to specialist road officers.
But the testing training will be rolled out to Shetland police officers as part of a pilot.
Sewell said it is a “huge step forward” and described the Shetland pilot as “high profile”.
Shepherd also said he felt it should help to make roads safer.
He said the training “should have happened a lot time ago but I think it’s very welcome”.
Meanwhile Sewell, who took up his post in September, said he would like to see more police officers on the beat in Shetland.
But he said it is important to have officers in the right place at the right time.
Shepherd also said he believes police should be “out, not in” as a default – with officers provided with the required technology to allow them to file reports outside the office.
He also said it was his view that across the Highlands and Islands officers on dayshifts should be spending at least an hour on foot patrol in “hotspot areas”.
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