Minister for Police Mark Ryan today joined Acting Deputy Commissioner Mark Wheeler in Townsville for the roll-out of the Queensland Police Service’s new body-worn cameras.
The state-of-the-art cameras boast impressive capabilities, including the option to live-stream interactions and feed information back to specialist or higher-ranking police in real-time.
Minister Ryan said the new technology was among the first of its kind to be rolled out.
“This is a world-leading initiative, fit for our world-class police service,” Minister Ryan said.
“The live streaming capabilities of these vests means we are able to get clear, accurate information as an emergency situation unfolds.”
The technology has already proven successful, including during a recent siege situation on Magnetic Island where a police negotiation coordinator managed the on-scene negotiator response without having to travel to the Island via ferry.
“The negotiator livestreamed into the body worn cameras of negotiators on-scene, and was able to give the best advice to those officers as the siege unfolded,” Minister Ryan said.
“This is life-saving technology that strengthens the response of our police, to ensure we can make quick and accurate decisions at the touch of a button.”
Acting Deputy Commissioner Wheeler said the camera’s capability took policing in Queensland to a new level.
“This is just an extra tool in the tool-belt of our officers, to ensure we can best protect the public,” Acting Deputy Commissioner Wheeler said.
“Having this technology allows our on-scene crews to utilise advice from teams off-scene, in an instant.”
Please find below a link to vision of Townsville police demonstrating the use of the new cameras along the Strand, Townsville CBD this morning:
