Barrow: Body cameras proposed for council team amid 'frequent' abuse

Body-worn cameras could be used by some Barrow council workers to clampdown on "frequent" verbal and aggressive abuse.

The authority said they would help its enforcement officers gather evidence to tackle issues such as litter and public complaints.

The eight-strong team would also get "made-to-measure armour" and radios.

A report said people's behaviour was "far less likely" to become physically or verbally abusive when they were aware they are being recorded.

It added that enforcement officer work often involved a "high level" of exposure to public confrontation.

The project would be funded by more than £10,500 from the Government's Safer Streets Fund.

Body Worn Video Devices (BWVDs) have routinely been in use by public bodies since 2006, including councils, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

"[They] are not designed to replace traditional forms of collecting evidence, such as written statements and interview, but to complement and support them," report author Caroline Wagstaff said.

The team was established last April and its work includes dealing with antisocial behaviour and environmental issues such as fly-tipping and littering.

Ms Wagstaff said that while the council's officers had not been physically assaulted, they were "frequently" subjected to verbal abuse and aggressive behaviour when issuing fixed penalty notices.

The devices were only to be used on an "incident specific" basis, including when a member of the public was "confrontational" or where the officer believed they may be subjected to physical or verbal abuse.

Enforcement officers would be expected to announce when body cams were in use or were about to be turned on, while the devices would have labels indicating they were used for video and audio recording.

The proposals will be discussed by the Labour-led council on Wednesday.

Follow BBC North East & Cumbria on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].