Newcastle police will wear body cameras starting this week, as part of a rollout across NSW.
The cameras, which will record high quality audio and video, will be worn clearly visible over officers’ uniforms and will be switched on during operations or unfolding incidents to capture footage that could possibly support investigations.
Newcastle City Police District commander Superintendent Brett Greentree said police would warn people when their camera was being activated.
“[Body cameras] will play an important part in our ongoing commitment to officer and community safety in the Newcastle area,” he said.
“With millions of interactions between police and community members every year, the cameras will be an excellent tool to assist investigations by directly recording criminal behaviour and providing officers with a contemporaneous, unequivocal account of an incident.”
The rollout comes after NSW Police trialled the technology in 2013 and 2014, before equipping officers on Sydney’s Northern Beaches with cameras.
