London cops to be equipped with body-mounted cameras

London Mayor, Boris Johnson, said on Wednesday that the government would equip most policemen with body-mounted cameras by March, 2016.
He said the city planned to order 20,000 extra devices to help officers “fight crime and boost public confidence”.
“The Metropolitan Police will equip all neighbourhood officers and “response officers” with the cameras. This will give London the world’s largest concentration of body-mounted cameras, following a trial with some 1,000 devices since 2014.
“This is exciting technology that will build trust, help the police do their jobs, and allow the public to hold officers more accountable,” he said.
Johnson said the plan for the roll-out of body-worn video would make the technology available to more officers in a single city than anywhere else in the world.
“This is a giant step toward a truly 21st century police force for London, ” he said.
Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, said the cameras would allow officers to make a record of the very challenging circumstances, they are asked to deal with on a daily basis.
“It will also improve public scrutiny of how we carry out our role. A camera is also a very essential tool in gathering evidence of offences,’’ he said.
Hogan-Howe said an ethics panel to produce guidelines for police using the cameras had been put in place since 2014.