Shortly after the start of the Body-Cam Pilot test phase at the City of Cologne, the municipality is already drawing positive conclusions about body cams: the field staff of the public order office have benefited from the use of the cameras, especially on carnival days. In particular, the front screen of the tested cameras — including the NetCo Body-Cam — had a de-escalating effect on the revelers: “By wearing the Bodycam with front screen, it was found that those affected adapted their behaviour and became more cooperative,” a spokeswoman for the city of Cologne announced shortly after the carnival (source: New devices in use: Bodycam helped Cologne public order office at carnival in action against troublemakers (msn.com)).
The area in which the body cams were used was extended during the carnival days: while the cameras are normally only used around the cathedral/main train station and the old town, the field staff now also wore the body cams in the Zülpich district in order to de-escalate conflicts and protect other revelers.
The body cams were in use on carnival days — and not just in the cathedral area, but in all “hotspots” in the city. The general pilot phase will last for a total of 6 months. In addition to the NetCo Body-Cam, other models will also be tested. After the test phase and a subsequent evaluation, a decision will be made as to whether the body cam will continue to be used by the field staff of the Cologne Public Order Office.
The City of Cologne attaches great importance to a well thought-out technical infrastructure. The ability to store recorded body cam data in the city’s IT network is important here in order to avoid security gaps.
Only a few body cams needed to be used at the carnival
During the test period to date, a body cam recording has only been made twice — both times during the Cologne carnival. In three cases, aggressive revelers were warned, but the body cam was not activated because the situation could be de-escalated. In one of the two cases in which the body cam recorded the situation, it was a heavily intoxicated person who was involved in a fight. The camera was switched on after a member of security staff was also attacked. The image and sound material from the body cam is now being used to preserve evidence in order to be able to successfully initiate criminal proceedings against the partygoer.
- For data protection reasons in the EU, body cam recordings are deleted by default after a predefined period of time. However, indefinite storage is possible in three cases:
- For the prosecution of criminal offenses and administrative offenses
- To avert danger at the request of the person filmed, in the event of a request to review the legality of the body cam recording
In the case of the heavily intoxicated person who assaulted the police officer, the body cam recording is also initially stored indefinitely to enable criminal prosecution.
Body cams also helpful at other major events
It is not only at the Cologne Carnival that the experience of the public order office has shown that body cams are a promising way of de-escalating conflict-laden situations. The use of body cams is also beneficial at other major events that are accompanied by the public order office and police in order to manage potential conflicts and ensure public safety.
However, in order to be able to equip additional security personnel, for example from private security companies, with body cams for major events, a few hurdles still need to be overcome in terms of data protection. NetCo has created a free guide (available on request) to provide all interested security companies with a detailed overview of all measures for GDPR-compliant body cam use.
