Met strengthens its body worn video policy to improve trust and confidence

The Metropolitan Police has published a revised policy which commits to releasing even more body worn video from officers, where it can improve transparency and trust in policing.

The effect of the policy was seen in recent weeks following the knife attack in Golders Green, where within hours of the incident the Met released the body worn video from the perspective of the first response officers. This was in response to a narrative growing online which criticised the force used by officers, who were bravely apprehending an armed man.

It was put into use again following the significant public order policing operation last Saturday, where we were able to provide an insight into the abuse officers faced from protesters and the challenges involved in intervening in dense crowds to make arrests.

Previously, bodyworn video was typically only published after the conclusion of any criminal proceedings - which can take years to complete particularly given ongoing delays in the court system. This left the public relying on footage shared online by others, sometimes showing only snippets of longer incidents and giving only a partial picture.

The revised approach, which has safeguards built in to protect the integrity of future court cases, means the full picture can more often be provided.

This all forms part of ongoing work across the Met, both to improve trust and confidence and to back our own officers and help people understand the very challenging role they perform.

Polling conducted shows Londoners back the policy, with 60 per cent of those asked saying they trusted the Met more after seeing footage of criminals being caught.

Commander Neerav Patel said:

"The public only see a fraction of the incredible work that officers do each day, this new change in policy will allow them to see what we're doing to keep them safe. Whether that's getting weapons off the streets, pursuing suspects or policing major public order events.

"It also protects our hardworking officers. We are increasingly seeing videos posted online, which are selectively edited or show a short snippet of a longer interaction. Without the full picture this undermines the work of our officers. They must know we will have their back and support them.

“We also know there will be occasions where we haven’t got things right, and it’s important that we continue to be transparent in these instances so we can further rebuild the trust our communities have in us.”

In recent months the Met has been ramping up the body-worn video published on its social media channels, this has included officers saving residents from a burning building, shoplifters caught in the act and arrested and unarmed officers tackling a man with a suspected firearm.

This comes as trust and confidence in the Met is increasing, with 81 per cent of Londoners saying they believe the Met is doing a good or fair job.

The published document makes clear any release of body worn video must be necessary and proportionate. A decision to release a video must consider the Met's legal obligations, including data protection, any operational risk and the impact on future legal proceedings.

Where another organisation has primacy for an investigation, it will be for them to approve the release of body worn video.

Chief Communications Officer, Sharon Sawers said:

“Our new policy will allow us to show more examples of bravery, weapons seizures, pursuits and everyday excellent. We’ve already been ramping up this activity and our social channels have grown massively as a result. This is allowing us to reach an audience which aren’t typically looking at traditional media. Our content and channels team have done an incredible job and are really raising the standard of police digital communications.

“This also means when we’re faced with online commentary about incidents where only partial footage has been shared or where claims being made simply aren’t true, we’re better placed to push back and quickly correct false narratives and prevent the erosion of confidence.

“The Golders Green attack was a prime example of this; we needed to act fast to rebut the criticism we saw online around the use of force by officers. Crucially we also needed to support our officers who had put themselves in grave danger. When unarmed officers apprehend a man with a knife, who may have other weapons or even an explosive device, they really should be commended not criticised.

“I’m proud of the team who quickly turned around this video. It’s incredibly rare for law enforcement to release a video like this so soon after an event. We worked quickly to get legal, policy, and operational clearance, including from the counter terrorism command who led on the investigation – anyone who works in comms know these aren’t quick processes, but they were relentless and got the full video out that evening. This corrected the narrative, protected the officers, and showed people the incredible work officers do”.

Notes to editors running order on video:

+ Officer BWV arresting suspect during Golders Green terror attack

+ Unarmed officers tackling a man with a suspected firearm

+ Pursuit of e-bike thief (motorcyclist BWV)

+ LFR arrest of man wanted to GBH

+ Local officers confronting Hainault sword attacker with baton (man had murdered 7yo schoolboy moments before)

+ Officers pursue and arrest e-bike phone thief

+ Offices save residents from burning building

+ LFR arrest of man wanted for fraud and theft

+ Shoplifters caught in the act and arrested by officers