Johannesburg, 30 Jun 2021
Body worn video solutions are already making a difference to public safety agencies globally, with various deployments in the UK and the US.
More recently, Motorola Solutions – a technology company specialising in mission-critical communications and analytics – secured a contract to provide French national and military police with 30 000 body worn video cameras, believed to be one of the largest deployments of the technology anywhere in the world.
There have been talks in South Africa of deploying the technology for its police service, while it’s already in use for emergency responders in the Western Cape.
According to Qiniselani Moremoholo, sales manager at Motorola Solutions SA, it was unforeseen that body worn video technology would be deployed by ambulance services, but this has proven to be extremely beneficial.
“In the Western Cape, there have been ongoing attacks on paramedics while they were out on call. Body worn cameras capture interactions between the paramedics, patients and members of the public, helping to identify what transpired. It also protects the paramedic against allegations of malpractice.
“Body worn video increases officer safety and accountability, yet initially the technology is sometimes met with negativity by personnel who believe that it will spy on them and invade their privacy. While it does fundamentally change the manner in which they operate, users soon realise that members of the public conduct themselves differently when they know they’re being recorded. Emergency responders not only feel safer, but as it also records interactions with members of the public, there is irrefutable proof of the interaction.”
Moremoholo says it is key that when body worn technology is deployed, it is tailored to local conditions. “You also have to consider whether you automate the technology or permit the user to decide when to switch it on or off.
“Technology is meant to support the organisation, its processes and its people – and if you don’t deploy it correctly, you may not get the results that you’re hoping for.”
Local regulations need to come under consideration here. Some countries have fairly complex laws around video, requiring people to be informed when they’re being recorded or their faces blurred out. “In South Africa, one has to be cognisant of GDPR and POPIA legislation, but we don’t have regulations specifically around body worn cameras, which poses a challenge to deployment. Regulation is required to ensure that the footage captured by body worn technology will stand up in court.”
While some local private security firms have already adopted body worn technology, adoption by the police service is pending finalisation of the necessary regulations. These regulations will protect the police as much as they do members of the public, concludes Moremoholo.
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