Metropolitan Police Federation chair says bodycam footage should always be released
23 August 2020, 12:03 | Updated: 23 August 2020, 12:06
Met Police Federation chair says bodycam footage should always be published
The chair of the Metropolitan Police Federation has called for the release of officers' bodycam footage to become standard.
Ken Marsh said videos posted online by the public often fail to show the "full story" of incidents and has led to a downturn in trust of the police in London and elsewhere.
He told LBC's Andrew Pierce: "[Bodycam footage] is transparent in the way it's recorded, the way it's recognised, the way it's received, the way it's controlled and held and everything that goes with it - it can't be tampered with."
It follows calls from campaigners for police officers to be allowed to the release bodycam footage to the public - supported by Brent MP Dawn Butler who alleges she was racially profiled when police stopped her and a friend while driving in Hackney.
The Federation has also expressed frustration that officers are being made to record incidents on their personal mobile phones so they can use it freely, as opposed to adhering to legal constraints around bodycam footage.
Mr Marsh said: "That's the beauty of what i'm talking about - because when you talk about the MP - she can put it out however she wants and the pieces she wants.
He added: "I don't want to see that for my colleagues because then it becomes a tit-for-tat... whereas at the moment the bodycam cameras have complete transparency."
He praised America's strategy of routinely releasing bodycam footage of incidents and said the public "should be over the moon" with the idea of Britain adopting the same methods.
