Priti Patel renews call for police bodycam clips to be shared more

Priti Patel renews call for police bodycam clips to be shared more often to avoid officers suffering ‘trial by social media’

  • Priti Patel will back police body-worn camera footage being shared more often
  • Home Secretary believed police should not ‘be subjected to trial by social media’
  • Police Federation says move will combat accusations of heavy-handedness or prejudice

Priti Patel will today renew her backing for footage from police body-worn cameras to be shared more frequently – to combat ‘trial by social media’.

Speaking at the Police Federation annual conference, the Home Secretary will back its call for the clips to be published more regularly by forces.

The federation, which represents 120,000 officers in England and Wales, says it will combat false accusations of heavy-handedness or prejudice.

‘I will not let the police be subjected to trial by social media,’ the Home Secretary will say.

Home Secretary Priti Patel will today renew her backing for footage from police body-worn cameras to be shared more frequently – to combat ‘trial by social media’

‘That’s why I backed the Federation’s call for forces to share body-worn video footage to counter highly selective, and misleading, video clips uploaded onto social media.

‘I want forces to be more pro-active in sharing body-worn video footage to highlight the good work of their officers, to build public confidence, and to correct harmful misinformation circulating online.’

According to extracts released ahead of today’s online event, Miss Patel will also praise officers for their actions during the pandemic.

There have been allegations made against officers for abusing their powers when using stop and search, for example, and when policing protests, such as those by Black Lives Matter and Extinction Rebellion. Pictured: A BLM protest in London last year

There have been allegations made against officers for abusing their powers when using stop and search, for example, and when policing protests, such as those by Black Lives Matter and Extinction Rebellion.

The Police Federation claims bystanders’ videos of confrontations posted online often give a one-sided version of incidents.

Miss Patel added: ‘It is critical that we work as a system to ensure that we maintain public confidence in policing, which is vital for victim reporting, intelligence-led policing, and to maintain our treasured model of policing by consent.

‘As part of this process, we will be looking carefully at strengthening the system of local community scrutiny and the value of body-worn video, because transparency is vital.’

Miss Patel first voiced her support for the campaign last September.

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