Police dog handlers will be issued with body worn video cameras, following their official launch on Monday (31 July).
Around 200 dog handlers in the Met’s Taskforce will initially be issued with the Body Worn Video (BWV), which aims to provide "greater transparency" and has led to an increase of early guilty pleas.
Police dogs perform a number of policing roles, including tackling public order incidents, and Chief Inspector Neil Sawyers, from the Met's Taskforce, said the BWV will allow the "utmost confidence" in their handlers.
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"Body Worn Video continues to be issued to all officers from Taskforce, the Dog Section being the most recent," he said.
"The nature of their work means they frequently work alone so this is a vital means of capturing and corroborating evidence.
"It also allows the community to have the utmost confidence in the officers’ actions and has proven instrumental in resolving complaints."
According to the Met, the cameras have already 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.
Chief Inspector Sawyer added: “Body worn footage has also led to early guilty pleas when the suspect has been presented with images of their actions.
"It also allows courts to witness first-hand what the officer was faced with and the split-second decisions they needed to make."
The equipment, which is being rolled out to other operational officers in the next few months, aims to offer "greater transparency" for those in front of the camera as well as those behind it.
A spokesperson for the Met added: "Londoners can feel reassured during their interactions with the police, whilst BWV will also help officers gather evidence and demonstrate their professionalism in the face of the many challenges involved in policing the capital."
Footage recorded on BWV is subject to legal safeguards and guidance and is automatically uploaded to secure servers once the device has been docked and flagged for use as evidence.
Video not kept for evidence or for policing purposes is automatically deleted within 31 days.
If members of the public want to view footage taken of them, they can make a written request to obtain it under the freedom of information and data request laws within 31 days of the incident.
The cameras are attached to officer's uniform and do not permanently record, which ensures interactions with the public are not unnecessarily filmed.
Members of the public are told as soon as possible that they are being recorded by the camera, which is highly visible with a flashing red circle in the centre of the camera and a frequent beeping noise when it's activated.
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