Threats or even physical attacks – this is everyday life for many law enforcement officers. As a result, more and more public order offices and municipal public order services (KOD) in North Rhine-Westphalia are advocating the use of body cameras and equipping their urban field staff with cameras, because since 1 July 2022, the use of body cameras in Germany’s most populous federal state has been legally compliant thanks to an amendment to the Public Order Authority Act.
The fact that, with increasing violence among the population, the focus must be strongly on employee protection is probably one reason for the approval of body cam use by municipal public order services. Hardly any KOD field staff have been spared verbal or physical attacks by angry fellow citizens. As a result, security staff who work to uphold law and order become victims themselves and are sometimes unable to work for many months. Body cameras restore their safety in their everyday work and de-escalate critical (conflict) situations. In this way, the cameras prevent violence and deter potential perpetrators.
NetCo equips numerous public order offices with body cameras Duisburg is one of the first municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia to have initially tested the NetCo body camera and then deployed it across the board. Thorsten Bleckmann, head of the municipal field service at the Citizens’ and Public Order Office in Duisburg, told us in an interview: “We have found that the cameras already have a de-escalating effect in many conversations with citizens, even without being switched on.” Other KODs have also experienced this effect. In addition to Duisburg, the municipal public order service of the city of Herne has been testing the NetCo body cam since this year. The aim of the one-year test phase is to improve the safety of field staff. The city of Herne particularly appreciates the camera’s ease of use and large front display, which helps to de-escalate tense situations. ## Interview with Torsten Bleckmann To the interview
In Moers, too, field staff in the municipal public order service’s traffic monitoring department were equipped with NetCo body cams after a female employee was struck by a man following a verbal warning for illegal parking. The four-week pilot phase during the summer months was successful: no body cam recordings were made during this period, and critical situations were de-escalated at an early stage. The cameras are now to be used permanently in Moers. The project is currently with the main and finance committee, and the cameras are to be procured in 2023.
Another town currently testing the NetCo body cam is Olfen. The pilot phase is scheduled to run for a total of 12 months. Test runs have also recently started in Witten, Wetter and Gummersbach, where several employees have been equipped with body cams.
To preserve evidence of operations and protect KOD employees, Krefeld law enforcement officers are also being equipped with body cameras after the city heard about the positive experiences of the local police. Previously, staff numbers had already been increased and bulletproof vests had been procured in order to be better prepared for problematic situations and to ensure the protection of employees.
It can be assumed that other local authorities will soon be seeking to launch pilot phases with body cameras, which have been proven to have a de-escalating effect.