Why it is time police body worn videos are shown to the public.

It has been another week of turmoil in regards to policing across the capital. A week where it was revealed that record numbers of police officers are leaving. We have heard of upto three officers a day walking in, quitting and walking out. The reasons offered by the various federations are many including the poor police pay to name but one.

Low morale is surely something that needs to be addressed, as no other job is as continuously under the spotlight as policing it seems.

The bus incident last week in Croydon has been debated and the possible showing of the officers body worn video has also finally been suggested. Is this the right way forward? Of course- it is about time these videos are shown to the public.

The bus driver in the incident in Croydon, told LBC reporters that the woman had been abusive to the relevant parties involved-the driver, the ticket inspector and the police officers. The public were then informed that the possibility of showing the body worn video was an option-at last.

Policing in the UK is nothing like policing in America, the two are frequently compared and should not be. However, now is the time that like American policing, the public does have the opportunity to see the footage for themselves. I’m sure the majority of our officers would happily support this.

We know that social media videos only show part of many incidents and not the complete picture. In most cases the incident is actually nothing like the public perceive and what the officers have actually dealt with is completely different. Another argument for showing the body worn footage.

Officers across the capital are abused daily in many different forms. The hostile environment they face is quite unprecedented, yet they do their job to the best of their ability everyday.

To say policing is a challenging job is actually not quite right. What needs to be said is that it is a job that sees large scale situations that are at times quite unimaginable for the public. Officers frequently quote that if the population knew the incidents they dealt with daily, they would be shocked or even horrified.

For those who do use social media, the snippets of incidents that are shown that we frequently audibly exhale over, are just a small part of their everyday work.

It really is time that we start to see these body worn videos for clarity for all and to show just exactly what went on.

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