Nsl Testing Body Worn Cameras In Brighton And Hove

NSL’s Civil Enforcement Officers based in Brighton and Hove will be testing body worn video cameras over the next few weeks.

NSL pioneered the use of body worn cameras for parking officers five years ago, and they are now widely used across the UK.

The company says they are very effective in reducing assaults against parking officers, but also help the public to be reassured that the service is being delivered to the highest possible quality.

NSL spokesman Tim Cowen explained: “The cameras take a real-time video record of everything a Civil Enforcement Officer does on a shift. In one town where we use them, Bolton, they have virtually eradicated assaults on staff, so we are convinced of their value.”

But he added that they help NSL to investigate complaints again parking officers or about the service they deliver. “It is the nature of parking enforcement that we sometimes get complaints about the behaviour of our CEOs- for example, that they gave incorrect advice which led to someone receiving a parking ticket. With real time video evidence, we can establish if there is any issue with the quality of our service.

“In Bolton we had 16 such complaints and after checking the video we found them all to be groundless. That was good news for us, but also good news for the public, since we could absolutely guarantee that the service was being delivered properly.”

He added that if the company does need to respond to any issues the video cameras are extremely useful as training aids. “If we do have CEOs who’s advice to motorists is not 100% clear we will provide refresher training. In this case video of an incident is invaluable in helping us identify and deal with the issue. This doesn’t happen very often but when it does we want to be able to correct it quickly.

“We’re delivering a public service and the public has the right to expect the highest quality standards.”

He added that CEOs equipped with Body Cams would have highly visible badges on their uniforms to make it clear that filming was taking place. “It’s not meant to be a secret – for us the main reason for body cams is as a deterrent against assaults, and deterrents only work if they are k now about. We want everyone to be well-informed about this.”