6,225 stop and searches have been carried since January 2022 by the Metropolitan Police without the use of body worn cameras, data obtained by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.
Body Worn Video (BWV) cameras are small, visible devices attached to police officers’ uniforms (usually on the chest). They’re used to capture both video and audio evidence when officers are attending all types of incidents. They’re issued to all officers who come into contact with the public and are designed to act as an independent witness to police interactions with the public.
In 2021, a landmark report by the UK Government’s Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities recommended that body worn video cameras should be turned on whenever an officer believes an encounter will lead to a stop and search, or as soon as it is practicable to do so.
The report also suggested that if a camera has not been turned on the officer should explain in writing why, and the explanation must be available to the person who was stopped.
The Baroness Casey Review also highlighted that body worn video was not being used in all stop and searches and the House of Lords voted in March this year to try and put into law a requirement for police forces to outline how body worn video will be used during stop and searches.
Although the 6,225 incidents where the Met stopped and searched people without using body worn cameras only represents 2% of the total stop and searches since January 2022, the Liberal Democrats have argued that the force should be aiming for 100% of these encounters to be recorded if it is to succeed in rebuilding trust within communities across London.
Commenting Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member and Police & Crime Spokesperson Caroline Pidgeon AM said:
“6,255 stop and searches being carried out without the use of body worn cameras represents a significant number of individuals being stopped without video evidence of the interaction.
“We have seen over the last few decades how the disproportionate use of stop and search has led to decreased levels of trust between the police and communities. Stop and search is still being used 3 times more on black people in London than it is on white people.
“Ensuring cameras are switched on for all stop and searches while not a fix in itself, might go someway to increasing trust and transparency in the Met’s use of stop and search.
Alongside this we need to see the Met work with communities to look at a random selection of searches to assess the quality of the interaction and whether stop and search is being carried out respectfully and properly.”
