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Body-cams rolled out to all officers at Staffordshire Police in £1.6m scheme

All police officers are to get their own body-cams that switch on automatically when Tasers are produced as bosses spend £1.6 million upgrading hi-tech equipment.

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The investment from Staffordshire Police will provide 1,600 replacement cameras compared to the 600 they have now.

It will mean all officers, PCSOs and Specials will be issued with their own device instead of having to share them.

The move comes after a review by an Ethics, Transparency and Audit Panel which recommended body worn cameras should be mandatory for stop and searches as well as reports of domestic abuse.

In 2014 it was recommended officers should where cameras whenever Tasers were brandished after it was revealed the force drew them more than any other in the country – although rates of firing them were one of the lowest.

The new technology will have the capability for cameras to turn on automatically when a Taser is switched on within 30 feet.

However this will only be possible when the force upgrades its stun guns to Taser X2 models.

The devices will also have greater storage while another benefit will mean the Crown Prosecution Service will be able to access footage directly which should help progress criminal case more efficiently.

The cameras will be provided by Axon and are expected to be rolled out this Autumn.

Staffordshire Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Ellis has signed off the seven-figure investment.

He said: "As part of my openness and transparency agenda, policing in Staffordshire was the first in the UK to roll out body worn video to all frontline officers three years ago.

"In that time technology has advanced and many other police services across the country are also now providing body worn video to officers.

"This investment will allow the upgrading of cameras currently issued to police officers, PCSOs and Specials and is part of the £110m investment I am making in technology generally for Staffordshire Police.

"Greater storage capacity will become more and more important as will the ability for individual officers to transfer images and video directly into the Courts system in future."

A document which approves the investment states: "In the three years since roll-out, technology has moved on and the force equipment is now in need of replacement.

"It is clear that the operational benefits are best delivered through personal issue of devices – rather than the shared technology at used at present."

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