Police unions have renewed their appeal for officers to be given body cameras after research showed they dramatically helped reduce complaints against the police.
A Cambridge University study released yesterday showed that complaints by members of the public against officers fell by 93 per cent in one year.
Lead researcher Barak Ariel was quoted saying that no other policing measure had led to such “radical” changes.
The experiment involved almost 2,000 officers in four UK forces and two US police departments.
The findings were welcomed by the two police unions in Malta, which called for body cameras to be introduced in the force.
Inspector Sandro Camilleri of the Police Officer’s Union, an affiliate of the General Workers’ Union, said body cameras were “a must”.
The mere presence of a camera helps condition the behaviour of the officer and the alleged aggressor
“In today’s prevalent climate where respect towards police officers has waned and people try to make you out to be a liar, body cameras could provide the necessary evidence to resolve sticky situations,” Mr Camilleri said.
He said some of his union’s members bought their own body and dashboard cameras because it made them feel safe.
Body cameras are usually small, clip-on devices that stick to the top half of an officer’s uniform, while dashcams are affixed to a car’s dashboard.
Inspector Robert Vella from the Malta Police Association said that a pilot study should be conducted as a first step, by equipping police officers on the frontline with body cameras.
However, he also pointed out the need to have cameras installed in some police stations, such as the one in St Julian’s, where allegations of ill-treatment are sometimes made against officers.
“The cameras will help protect the police from vexatious accusations,” Mr Vella said.
The study findings, published in the journal Criminal Justice and Behaviour, showed there were 113 complaints made against officers during the year-long trial period, compared with 1,539 in the 12 months before.
The 93 per cent decline in complaints is a positive development, according to criminologist Saviour Formosa. “The mere presence of a camera helps condition the behaviour of the police officer and the alleged aggressor since the evidence will be available on video,” Dr Formosa said.
But the camera could also make police officers more attentive to their behaviour when listening to reports by victims of crime.
Dr Formosa said having body cams that transmit in real time to a control centre would provide better safeguards than cameras that simply record footage, which then has to be downloaded.
Last July, the Home Affairs Ministry said it was looking into the possibility of introducing body and dashboard cameras for police officers after repeated calls from union representatives.
Government sources who spoke to the Times of Malta at the time said the administration was not against the introduction of such equipment but said there were significant financial considerations.
“Equipment like this is often specialised and far from cheap. Perhaps a pilot project would be carried out first to test equipment and see the best way to go about using it,” the sources said.