In April I wrote about how no good thing could possibly come from prison officers wearing body cameras as the Prison Officers’ Association would like. Shortly afterwards I spoke to one officer who had read that post and was surprised to find that he didn’t like the idea either, though for very different reasons which I hadn’t even considered.
Hi Adam, I couldn’t agree more with the contents of your post. I can only imagine the massive increase in bureaucracy and the loss of the ‘human touch’ if wing staff are constantly on edge as a result of being under constant surveillance themselves when on duty.
I can certainly see a valid argument for officers working down the Block (segregation) or security department staff wearing cameras (say during a cell-spin or similar), but not on normal wing duty. Whether these really would decrease the risk of violence is open to question, however. In my own experience as a con, I found that no amount of cameras or other measures would deter men who were kicking off, mainly because they lose control and don’t tend to reflect on the consequences in the heat of the moment.
Thanks for your comment, Alex. Since writing that post the Body-Cams have now arrived at HMP Wakefield and I am told that staff have been trained how to use them, though they are yet to appear on the landings. One thing which concerns me is that officers say they are able to turn these cameras on and off, they won’t be on all of the time. Apparently they have to inform you when they are turning it on, but what will happen when an officer spends all day winding a prisoner up and trying to get him to react only to turn the body-cam on at the last second?
I’m sure some people do think officers should just be believed on their word but this just confirms all of my original fears. Any camera evidence obtained will be stacked exclusively in the officer’s favour, even if they are in the wrong.
Interestingly, it is near impossible to get photos taken here at Wakefield. I’m starting to wonder if it might just be easier to ask an officer to turn their Body-Cam on for a minute and then to submit a Data Protection request for a copy of the image so I can send them out as photos!