Page 98 - JUSTICE Tackling Racial Injustice - Children and the Youth Justice System

a) meet regularly;
b) receive comprehensive training on what constitutes an appropriate
stop and search, with particular attention given to the concerns of
BAME communities;
c) reflect their local community through proactive recruitment efforts;
and
d) have a prior review power of section 60 notices.

4.49 For CSPs to be effective, it is important that they have access to all available
evidence. Body Worn Video (BWV) has the potential to provide objective
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evidence of an incident. 271 As such, we consider that all CSPs should be given
access to BWV footage. This would require the MPS to reinstate the ability to
share such footage externally and change the current practice of destroying
BWV after thirty days, given that most CSPs meet once a quarter.

4.50 Unfortunately, we understand that the recording of incidents is often
inconsistent, with allegations of police officers not turning on their BWV
during whole or part of an incident. This could be resolved by requiring that
BWVs be turned on prior to an officer leaving their car, or, when on foot,
where they have a suspicion that their coercive powers might be exercised,
or prior to direct contact with members of the public. 272 In order to ensure
that the cameras do not run out of battery, it should be made possible to charge
the cameras in police vehicles. Should a camera not be switched on or be
switched off during an interaction, the reasons should be recorded and
provided to the CSP for review.

270 Cameras police officers wear that capture video and audio during interactions with the public.
271 For example, the Met have suspended CSPs from reviewing BWV since January 2020. This is highly
concerning given the large volumes of stop and search the Met conduct. See, Independent Office for
Police Conduct, ‘Review identifies eleven opportunities for the Met to improve on stop and search’,
October 2020. The IOPC review into the Met’s use of stop and search found ‘failure to use body-worn
video from the outset of contact’. While we understand that some CSPs are not given BWV footage for
data protection reasons, we consider these concerns can be addresses. For example, footage can be
uploaded onto a web platform, with a unique code provided to the CSP to access the footage and review
it, following which access can be restricted.
272 At present, there are no clear rules on when an officer should begin recording. Current guidance
states that “a decision to record or not to record an incident rests with the user”, but that it is
recommended that they should “record incidents whenever they invoke police power”. See College of
Policing, ‘Body-Worn Video’, 2014, p.23.

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