Recommendation - Merseyside Police, March 2021

The IOPC recommends that Merseyside Police should review and update their body worn video policy so that it better reflects national guidance.

This follows an IOPC review where at least three officers were present during an arrest but there is, reportedly, no body worn video footage of it. Whilst we note learning has already been identified for one of the officers, we believe there is organisational learning.

Merseyside Police’s Body Worn Video Policy deviates from the College of Policing’s national guidance in in respect of multiple officers recording the same incident and ensuring officers are aware they should be considering recording whenever they use a police power. The national guidance states that, as a general rule, officers should record incidents whenever they invoke a police power. Merseyside Police’s policy does not include this and is less clear about when body worn cameras should be activated. Further, the national guidance states that, in normal circumstances, all body worn video users should record the incident. Merseyside Police’s policy states it is not mandatory for every officer at a scene to switch on their cameras and, if the first officer at the scene is recording the incident, subsequent officers should use a discretionary approach. The IOPC is concerned that Merseyside Police’s current policy reduces the likelihood of officers activating their body worn video.

Do you accept the recommendation?

Yes

Accepted action:

​Merseyside Police accept the recommendation that the body worn video (BWV) policy should be reviewed for consistency with national guidance. The recommendation has been brought to the attention of senior officers responsible for the policy, who have acknowledged the requirement to update the policy when possible.

The policy has recently been updated to move closer to national guidance, mandating the use of BWV in the following cirumstances:

• Domestic/hate incidents
• In private dwellings
• For all Stop and Search
• Crime and traffic scenes
• Public order incidents
• Police pursuits

and now also to include:

• Using police search powers
• Method of Entry (MOE).

At this stage, due to the system that Merseyside Police operates and the current infrastructure, there are limitations on system capacity that feed into the policy. Therefore a discretionary approach in certain circumstances minimises the risk of the system becoming overwhelmed whilst ensuring that officers have sufficient guidance on the appropriate circumstances to deploy BWV.

There is a commitment to further investment in the system to enhance capacity. At this stage the policy will again be reviewed to bring it more in line with national guidance.