Bodycams on way, vows West Mercia Police boss

John Campion said the cameras were "integral" to building trust in the police and said that he was confident the force would be bringing them in "as soon as possible".

He was speaking after research released in a new study which claimed body cameras can drastically reduce the number of complaints against officers.

It also comes after demands for the routine use of bodycams following the death of former footballer Dalian Atkinson, 48, who was shot by police tasers in Telford in August.

Mr Campion said: "I am satisfied West Mercia Police is in the process of introducing body worn cameras and is looking for the most effective option.

"The cameras are integral to building trust in the police and just one of many tools that will better allow it to protect our communities.

"Whilst I am reassured that temporary alternatives are in place, I am confident that a complete solution will be brought in as soon as possible.

"I will be ensuring that resources are in place and will be holding the chief constable to account to ensure this is delivered."

Cambridge University research showed complaints by members of the public against officers fell by 93 per cent over 12 months compared with the year before when bodycams were used. Almost 2,000 officers across four UK forces and two US police departments were monitored for the project.

Dr Barak Ariel, who led the research, said no other policing measure had led to such "radical" changes.

The study aimed to find out if the use of cameras, which are usually clipped to the top half of an officer's uniform, affected complaints against police made by the public.

The experiment involved police fromEenglish forces including the west midlands as well as the rialto and ventura police departments in california.

The findings, published in the journal criminal justice and behaviour, showed there were 113 complaints made against officers during the year trial period, compared with 1,539 in the 12 months before – a reduction of 93 per cent.

Dr Ariel, who is based at the Cambridge Institute of Criminology, said: "I cannot think of any other single intervention in the history of policing that dramatically changed the way that officers behave, the way that suspects behave, and the way they interact with each other.

He said the results indicated both police and the public were adjusting their behaviour.

"Once the public are aware they are being recorded, once they know that everything they do is caught on tape, they will undoubtedly change their behaviour because they don't want to get into trouble.

"Individual officers become more accountable, and modify their behaviour accordingly, while the more disingenuous complaints from the public fallby the wayside once footage is likely to reveal them as frivolous."

Body-worn cameras were first introduced a decade ago and are now becoming a standard piece of police equipment in the uk.

There are no reliable figures on how many cameras there are, but it is thought they are available to most front-line officers in the majority of forces.

Dalian atkinson was killed last month when he was tasered six times by police who were not equipped with cameras. The death is subject to an investigation.