The police and fire brigade in Berlin received the first body cameras in July. A spokesman for the Senate Department for Home Affairs announced on request that different types of so-called body cameras are to be tested.
The plan is to purchase 30 devices in the first phase, 20 for the police and 10 for the fire brigade. They would be issued to crews of radio patrol cars or fire engines, but not assigned to individual emergency services. Previously, the “Berliner Zeitung” reported on the plans on Tuesday.
The background to the trial phase is the newly drafted General Safety and Order Act (Asog). Police officers and rescue workers will in future wear the devices on their bodies and switch them on in operations that threaten to escalate. According to the law, testing of the bodycams will end at the beginning of April 2024.
According to the spokesman, it is planned to first use the police body cameras in the area of Police Directorate 5 (City). Testing in two guards of the Berlin fire brigade is also planned in this area. The number of devices should then be increased quickly.
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The police union (GdP) criticized in a press release on Tuesday what it saw as the insufficient number of cameras. “Last year we had 7505 attacks against the police alone, but we are now getting a handful of body cameras to protect them, even though ten smartphones are pointed at my colleagues every time they are used in this city,” said GdP country chief Norbert Cioma. A “political placebo” has been created with the body cams.
“In fact, by limiting the trial run to three years and a lack of budget planning, Berlin’s policy has ensured that only small numbers of items can be purchased,” said Cioma. “When purchasing larger quantities, the lengthy tendering process takes effect, and in the end there is still no money.” (dpa)
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