Reliance Protect’s range of body worn cameras are designed to be more user friendly in both form factor and use, smaller and lighter, and packed with features such as HD video and audio, ability to live stream, GPS location technologies, Bluetooth capabilities, etc. Reliance Protect can offer the option of monitoring live streams of incidents through such devices, delivering quicker and more effective incident management and escalation services.
We are here to support you through the process of deploying body worn cameras and below are some thoughts on areas to consider as part of the deployment.
BS8593
BS8593 Code Of Practice The Deployment & Use Of Body Worn Cameras is a great starting point. BS8593 covers conducting Privacy Impact Assessments (PIA), and compliance with the 12 guiding principles of the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice.
Incident Record Or Continuous Record?
There are fundamental human rights issues associated with looking to have cameras recording all the time and this approach would need to be justified. On a practical level, cameras with such functionality are relatively large and heavy due to the battery power requirements and memory requirements to store such lengthy recordings, the amount of data collected could also become a huge task to manage.
Make Service Users & The General Public Aware?
Service users and the general public need to be informed that body worn cameras are in use. This messaging can take many forms and depends on the application. Examples include posters and signage, and inclusion within information leaflets.
The cameras themselves are designed to be overt with warning stickers and flashing lights, etc when in recording mode.
Furthermore, Reliance Protect would recommend users should state to the individuals involved that they are commencing recording the video and audio of the situation, as part of a standard operating procedure.
What To Record & What Not To Record?
Reliance Protect body worn camera solutions are NOT intended for covert recording applications. For organisations looking at this application, we would draw attention to the need for compliance with Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA).
Reliance Protect body worn camera solutions are designed for the following uses:
- To raise alarms to get assistance when users feel at risk or threatened
- Further to the above, to help manage and de-escalate conflict situations
- Capture evidence of criminal acts
- Capture footage to aid staff training and education
Standard Operating Procedures
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) should look to include the following areas:
- Who should have access to use the cameras
- Situations when to use and when not to use the cameras
- Process of allocation of devices to individuals or booking in and out systems if used in a shared environment
- How to use the cameras, how to charge the cameras, and how to upload recordings
- Responsibilities of users, administrators and managers covering both the cameras, recordings and the video management system (VMS)
Access & Management Of Recordings
GDPR needs to be front and centre when it comes to managing the video recordings. Organisations need to determine and control as an ongoing concern which employees have access to view, edit, export and delete recordings.
The customer organization is the data owner of the recordings and can use the recordings for reasons appropriate to that organization, taking into account all applicable legislation.
Video stored should sit within the organisation’s wider data usage and storage policies and procedures.
The camera users themselves should not be able to view, edit or delete the recordings they have made.
Reliance Protect body worn cameras do not have playback facilities on the cameras themselves.
