Lancashire police officers are making history - with access to new high-tech body worn cameras.


Police and Crime Commissioner, Clive Grunshaw, has funded the multi-million-pound investment which will see over 2000 cameras being used across the force, representing a significant investment in front line policing.


Body worn video (BWV) technology was first introduced in Lancashire in 2014, with a limited number of cameras being made available to operational staff, and the latest investment sees these cameras being replaced with a much larger pool of state-of-the-art equipment from Motorola which is of higher quality and more reliable.


They also include features such as an automatic 30 second video pre-record so officers never miss the beginning of an incident. The force is the first in the country which can review and tag footage on work-issued phones, while out and about, reducing the time officers spend in the office and freeing them up to focus on protecting the public.


Body worn video is an incredibly valuable tool for officers. It enhances opportunities for evidence capture; supports transparency, trust and confidence in the police; reduces the reliance on a victim's evidence, particularly those who may be vulnerable or reluctant to attend court; provides independent evidence to improve the quality of prosecution cases; ensures officer safety - and can increase early guilty pleas.


Mass roll-out is underway throughout the force, with over 1,200 officers trained in using the cameras so far.


To celebrate the launch, the Police and Crime Commissioner visited one of the training sessions at Greenbank police station in Blackburn today, when the project team set him up with a test account, to anable him to experience how easy the onboarding process is - and have a go at capturing some basic footage.


Chief Inspector Dave Hannan, lead for Digital Transformation at Lancashire Constabulary, said: “This investment is about giving our officers the best tools we can for the job - making it quicker and more efficient and improving the quality of evidence - so we can provide a great service to victims and the public.


“Deployment is going really well so far, with officers eager to get their hands on the new equipment – we can’t wait to see everyone using them and truly reap the rewards for the Force and our communities in Lancashire.”


Added the Police and Crime Commissioner: "It was great to see how body worn video will be used by Lancashire Police officers to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour and to help with evidence gathering.


"Investment in technology is crucial to ensure that Lancashire Police has the modern tools to deal with policing challenges of the 21st Century.


"The roll out of this technology will be a vital tool in bringing offenders to justice, especially those who take part in crime that is naturally more difficult to prosecute such as domestic abuse and public order offences."