Security consultancy Consulting Plus has been an important point of contact for the security industry for many years. In this interview, managing partner Stefan Bisanz tells us more about the use of and working with body cameras. ## In which areas of the security industry do you see advantages for the use of body cameras?
I see opportunities for the use of body cameras wherever there are members of the public. For example, I can well imagine body cameras being used in swimming pools, which is relevant to the current discussion. The cameras create a barrier, especially when the aggressor is facing security personnel and can even see themselves on the camera display. There are also body cameras without screens, but I personally find cameras with displays better.
I could also imagine body cams being used in cinemas, at events or concerts. If there is trouble there, the security personnel on site have to talk to those involved. Body cams can help with this. Of course, for data protection reasons, the use of body cams must be announced in advance; you cannot film for 24 hours straight. The wearing of the camera must also be marked so that everyone can see it. If a situation then escalates further and the camera is switched on, the aggressor sees themselves on the display, which acts as a barrier to further escalation. Body-Cams are a great thing because if something does happen, the camera images don’t lie. The cameras are also designed so that employees cannot delete the part where they behaved inappropriately. Everything is sent in full and encrypted to the police or other law enforcement agencies, who then investigate the case accordingly. ## As an experienced security consultant, you have a lot to do with security concepts. How can body-cams be integrated into existing security concepts? If we take the example of a concert, we have fixed points in the concept that need to be covered. These include, for example, admission control and the manning of emergency gates. Modern concepts often also include small intervention teams or free patrols without a fixed assignment, which can be deployed as needed if problems arise, e.g. in front of the toilets, at the food trucks or when getting beer, and go to the scene of the incident. In my opinion, body cams are ideal for this, as situations can be recorded directly on site, of course with prior notification that a camera is being worn and switched on. Body cams can also be easily integrated into any city festival, and I can only recommend that it is better to use one camera more than one too few.
What measures are necessary to overcome challenges such as data protection? I don’t see any concerns regarding data protection; in principle, the use of body cameras is permitted. Of course, this is an invasion of the personal rights of the person being recorded, and that must be taken into account. But if there is justification for restricting these personal rights, then the use of cameras is permitted under certain conditions. The situation must involve a potential criminal offence, which is the case when people behave aggressively or are armed. As already mentioned, the body cam wearer must indicate and announce the use of the body cam, the data transmission must be encrypted and tamper-proof, and only authorised persons may have access to the data for legal reasons, as is the case with a black box procedure in an aeroplane. Under these conditions, the use of cameras is feasible. For data protection reasons, the products also specify this procedure; the security guard only has to point out the camera and press the record button and then the stop button.
How could body-cams help to respond proactively to situations and identify dangers at an early stage? In my experience, the body-cam has the effect on aggressors that it is enough for the aggressor to see the camera and see themselves reflected in the display. This allows many conflictual events to be stopped before they occur. That is the greatest prevention we can achieve. The body camera is therefore a great invention, especially because aggressors see themselves on the screen, which tricks the human psyche – suddenly, my counterpart is no longer my opponent, but myself, because I see myself, perhaps with a facial expression that I don’t recognise in myself. The body cam is like a mirror. That’s why I believe that some people are shocked by what they see. And if the aggressor is still able to think – depending on what they have taken or drunk – they realise that what they are seeing is being recorded. And this shock effect helps to prevent a crime.
What points should not be omitted from body camera training for security personnel? The body camera as a tool naturally requires that the employee be trained in its use. As far as I can see, the standard training lasts one day. On this day, the operation and technology of the device are taught, as well as special situations such as use on public transport, ticket inspection on buses, for example. Employees must know how to deal with the other person, how to address them and how to draw their attention to the fact that they are carrying a camera. In addition, employees must be trained to recognise when the other person is being sufficiently aggressive for the camera to start recording. Another important part of the training is the legal framework and data protection. Employees must incorporate all these things when dealing with others, which requires training. An old saying in the field is, “You can only do what you have trained for in peacetime.”
About the person: Stefan Bisanz is co-founder and managing partner of consulting plus Holding GmbH, which specialises in security consulting and management as well as personal protection, event security, property protection and security technology. He has been working in the security industry for 40 years – 15 years with the German Armed Forces Military Police and the Ministry of Defence, and 25 years in the private sector. His main areas of expertise in private security include security and personal protection analyses, as well as the implementation and review of operational personal protection assignments.
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