Hammersmith and Fulham police are the latest force to take to the streets wearing Body Worn Video (BWV) cameras.

Hundreds of camera packs were delivered to cops in the borough as part of a roll-out of BWV kits, which will see 22,000 frontline police carrying the equipment.

Frontline officers and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) from Hammersmith and Fulham were personally issued with 400 BWV accessory packs by Volunteer Police Cadets (VPC) on Wednesday (May 31).

Hundreds of police in Hammersmith and Fulham borough are now kitted out with body worn video

Chief superintendent Gideon Springer, Hammersmith and Fulham's borough commander, said: “Body Worn Video is an exciting new tool for the borough, it will make a genuine difference to the work carried out by the front line officers in Hammersmith and Fulham.

"It will capture images at a scene that can then be presented to court, assisting courts in making informed decisions on convictions and sentencing.

“The use of BWV in other parts of the Metropolitan Police Service has been shown to reduce confrontation and complaints against police officers.

“It is vital that the communities of Hammersmith and Fulham have confidence in my officers’ ability to support victims of crime.

"I know that the use of this technology will enhance this by directly recording criminal behaviour and the consequences that it has."

The official launch of the new Body Worn Video in the borough was on Tuesday (May 30).

The cameras have already shown they can help bring speedier justice for victims.

They have proved particularly successful in domestic abuse cases where there has been an increase in earlier guilty pleas from offenders who know their actions have been recorded, the police said.

Police cadets handed over the Body Worn Video cameras to Hammersmith and Fulham borough

Chief superintendent Springer said: “The data that is downloaded by the camera will be dealt with in a secure, systematic and professional manner.

"The accompanying software is of an excellent quality and importantly is linked to our existing procedures for the management of evidence with an accountable chain.”

BWV aims to offer greater transparency, so Londoners can feel reassured during their interactions with the police, and will help officers gather evidence.

Volunteer Police Cadets issued 400 BWV accessory packs

All footage recorded on BWV is subject to legal safeguards and guidance.

The footage from the camera is automatically uploaded to secure servers once the device has been docked and flagged for use as evidence at court or other proceedings.

Video not retained as evidence or for a policing purpose is automatically deleted within 31 days.

If the public wish to view footage taken of them they can request, in writing, to obtain it under freedom of information and data protection laws.

The request must be within 31 days of the incident unless it has been marked as police evidence and therefore retained.

The cameras are attached to the officer's uniform and do not permanently record, to ensure interactions with the public are not unnecessarily impeded.

Members of the public are told as soon as practical that they are being recorded.

When the camera is recording, it is highly visible with a flashing red circle in the centre of the camera and a frequent beeping noise when it is activated.

Keep up to date with the latest news in west London via the free getwestlondon app.

You can even set it to receive push notifications for all the breaking news in your area

Available to download from the App Store or Google Play for Android now!