Latest news with #bodycameras
New York Times
19 minutes ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Referee body camera trials extended worldwide following Club World Cup test
Football's lawmakers have extended the use of referee body cameras for broadcast purposes to worldwide domestic and international competitions. The International Football Association Board (IFAB) said its board of directors had approved the extension of the trial of the technology following 'successful tests' at the 2025 Club World Cup. Advertisement Other competitions wishing to participate in the trial and implement referee body cameras must seek permission from IFAB and FIFA to do so. This is a similar process to the introduction of previous new officiating measures, such as in-stadium VAR announcements. The implementation of the technology in the Premier League for the 2025-26 season is under consideration. Jarred Gillett became the first Premier League referee to wear a body camera during the fixture between Crystal Palace and Manchester United in May 2024. The footage was not made available for immediate broadcast and was described as a 'one off' for a programme promoting match officials. The technology trial was initially limited to FIFA competitions following approval at an IFAB meeting in March. It was introduced for the Club World Cup in the United States this summer for as part of live match transmission, providing a new replay angle from the referee's perspective. Pierluigi Collina, chairman of the FIFA referees committee, said in April the use of body cameras would offer broadcast viewers a 'new experience'. The former FIFA referee said following the tournament their use 'went beyond our expectations'. The initial trial was to 'identify possible future use and develop quality and safety standards'. 'Now, other competitions have the option to test such systems and provide valuable information and feedback,' an IFAB statement read. Referee body cameras were first trialled in English grassroots football in 2023 with the aim of improving behaviour and respect from players and supporters towards match officials. 'We had the possibility to see what the referee sees on the field of play,' Collina told FIFA's official website in July. 'And this was not only for entertainment purposes, but also for coaching the referees (and) to explain why something was not seen on the field of play.'
CBC
7 days ago
- CBC
Vancouver parking enforcement to pilot body cams after 'surge' in assaults against officers
Social Sharing Fifteen parking enforcement officers in Vancouver will start wearing body cameras next month in response to what the city calls a "surge" in physical and verbal abuse from the public. The body cameras are a six-month pilot project that aims to deter violence. Om Mogerman, the associate director of parking operations with the City of Vancouver, said there was a physical assault on a parking officer once every two weeks in 2024. In a news release, the city said incidents continue to increase. "We see a myriad of different levels of violence and assault towards parking enforcement officers," Mogerman told CBC's On The Coast guest host Amy Bell. "The vast majority are verbal harassment, threats, bullying type behaviour, however, we do see physical violence towards our staff fairly regularly." It's gotten so bad, he said, they've started bringing in trauma counsellors once a week to meet with staff. City of Vancouver chief safety officer Magnus Enfeldt said the violence got to a point where the city had to do something to protect the parking officers. "No one likes to get a parking ticket, but everyone deserves the right to go to work and not be afraid of being assaulted while doing their job," he said. WATCH | City officials explain parking officer body camera program: City of Vancouver wants to give parking attendants bodycams 15 hours ago Starting in August, 15 parking attendants in Vancouver will be wearing body cameras as part of a pilot project. Om Mogerman, associate director of parking operations, said the City of Vancouver was seeing its parking enforcement officers facing physical assaults every two weeks. Magnus Enfeldt, the city's chief safety officer, said the footage from the cameras would only be stored in case a violent incident occurs, failing which it would be deleted in five days. The hope is that people will think twice before escalating during an interaction with a parking officer simply because the cameras exist. But if things do get to a point where an officer feels unsafe, they can turn their camera on. Enfeldt said each camera is activated when the parking officer goes out on shift and sits in buffering mode, recording on a continuous 30-second loop. If they feel their safety is at risk, they can activate the camera, let the person know they're doing so, and the camera will start recording. It will include the interaction from the previous 30 seconds that were captured on that continuous loop, to show what led to the officer activating the camera. The cameras do not have facial recognition capabilities, according to the city. If violence does occur, the parking officer would then call police to report it. If the police require the footage from the interaction for their investigation, the city will be able to provide it, Mogerman added. If recordings do not need to be investigated, they will be deleted within five days. After six months of testing, the city will re-evaluate to see if the cameras are a permanent measure that should be taken for all parking officers. While the project is primarily focused on physical safety, it's also about mental well-being for parking officers, Mogerman said. "When we said we were doing a pilot, we had to turn people down that wanted to be involved. The majority of our staff want to participate," he said.
CBC
23-07-2025
- CBC
City of Vancouver wants to give parking attendants bodycams
Starting in August, 15 parking attendants in Vancouver will be wearing body cameras as part of a pilot project. Om Mogerman, associate director of parking operations, said the City of Vancouver was seeing its parking enforcement officers facing physical assaults every two weeks. Magnus Enfeldt, the city's chief safety officer, said the footage from the cameras would only be stored in case a violent incident occurs, failing which it would be deleted in five days.
Daily Mail
05-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
H&M hands staff body cameras to catch shoplifters
H&M has become the latest retailer to give its UK staff body cameras as shops grapple with shoplifting and attacks on workers. The Swedish fashion giant told The Mail on Sunday it was conducting trials of the technology. It follows other household names Tesco, the Co-op and Lidl, which are providing staff with bodycams to protect them from abuse and assaults. High street firms say the move has been forced on them due to a police failure to act. Shoplifting was up one fifth last year with violent and abusive incidents running at 2,000 a day. Criminals – often organised gangs – increasingly steal goods in full view of staff and shoppers, safe in the knowledge that there will be no consequences. Workers are usually told not to intervene against thieves to avoid the risk of being attacked. Staff have also reported being sworn at, being subjected to racial and sexual insults, physically threatened, spat on and being victims of physical violence. The H&M bodycam trials are taking place at a store in Edinburgh as well as shops in Wood Green and Beckton in London. A spokesman for the firm said: 'We're testing this new technology in a three-store pilot to assess what beneficial impact it may have, along with proper staff customer service training, on de-escalating and reducing incidents for the safety of both our colleagues and customers.' The cameras are clipped onto a worker's clothes and can record distressing situations to help provide evidence to the police. Companies are turning to a wide range of security measures as they face unprecedented levels of theft and violence against staff. Chains including Tesco, Morrisons, Boots, Primark and Greggs said last week they would start submitting CCTV and photos of prolific shoplifters into a new database to be shared with police. The hope is that the database, known as Auror and pioneered in New Zealand, will provide security guards with watchlists so they can bar entry to repeat offenders. More goods are now being locked in anti-theft devices, including basic foodstuffs such as honey roast ham, pork and mincemeat. Greggs announced in May it had moved some products behind the counter to reduce theft. Shoplifting offences hit a record high in England and Wales last year with 516,971 incidents recorded by police, up from 429,873 in 2023, according to the Office for National Statistics. And there were £2.2billion of recorded store losses from theft, up from £1.8billion the previous year. This was despite the industry investing £1.8billion into bolstering security, including the rollout of body cameras, panic buttons and CCTV. The number of violent and abusive incidents hit more than 2,000 a day in the year to April 2024, according to industry group the British Retail Consortium (BRC). In September 2023, Tesco boss Ken Murphy said every frontline worker at the supermarket chain would be offered a bodycam due to a rise in attacks. Labour has promised to make assaults on shop staff a specific offence in England and Wales, as it is in Scotland, in the Crime and Policing Bill currently making its way through Parliament. A clause states that anyone found guilty of assaulting a retail worker can be sentenced to up to six months in prison. The MoS has led calls for a crackdown with its End The Shoplifting Epidemic campaign. Graham Wynn, assistant director of regulatory affairs at the BRC, said: 'The police must get tougher on retail crime, ensuring that all incidents are attended to and followed up on, while the Government must ensure swift passage of the Bill to protect retail workers.' Home Secretary Yvette Cooper also said last week that more police officers will be deployed to hundreds of towns across Britain this summer to clamp down on crime and anti-social behaviour.
South China Morning Post
30-06-2025
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong sea patrol officers to use body cameras to help in investigations
Sea patrol officers from Hong Kong's Marine Department will start using body cameras from Tuesday to help them perform their duties more effectively. Frontline officers of the harbour patrol section across all districts would be fully equipped with the devices to help in investigations, evidence collection, and document maritime conditions during major events at sea for safety purposes, a department spokesman said on Monday. Other government departments that have equipped frontline officers with body-worn cameras include police, the Correctional Services Department and hawker control teams under the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department. Between January and June, the Marine Department conducted a field trial in the waters around Victoria Harbour to assess the effectiveness of the cameras. The evaluation showed that the use of body-worn video devices significantly improved both the accuracy and quality of evidence collection, offering practical insights for future investigations, the department added. To support the roll-out, guidelines have been drawn up. Officers are required to wear uniforms and mount the cameras in a clearly visible position while on duty.
