Hope body-worn cameras help tackle officer assaults
The video cameras are to be supplied to about 400 officers
- Published
A roll out of body-worn video cameras has started in a Police Scotland division where attacks per officer are higher than anywhere else in the force.
About 400 officers, including road policing personnel and dog handlers, will be equipped with the new devices in the Highlands and Islands.
Police Scotland said threats and assaults against officers were proportionately higher in the area than anywhere else in Scotland.
There were 363 assaults recorded in 2024-25 in Highlands and Islands Division. The five-year average for the area is 332.
It is the force's largest division in terms of geographical area, and includes the Highlands, Western Isles and Northern Isles.
Highlands and Islands divisional commander, Ch Supt Robert Shepherd, said the new technology would help protect the public and frontline officers, especially those working in remote areas.
He told BBC Scotland News: "They might be the only officer for two to three hours in any direction.
"They maybe more reticent to arrest people, which leads to people feeling a permissive environment to maybe push things further with an officer."
Ch Supt Robert Shepherd said: "Most members of the public are less likely to assault or abuse a police officer if they are made aware they are being recorded."
The senior officer told Highland councillors in 2023 he hoped the division would be the first to receive the technology due to the number of assaults on officers.
The nationwide roll out of the cameras started in March, and was expected to take 18 months to completed.
Officers in Tayside were the first to receive them.
The move will bring Police Scotland into line with other UK police forces which have had the cameras as standard for many years.
The units were rolled out across England and Wales after being first trialled in Plymouth in 2006.
Police Scotland said the Motorola Solutions VB400 cameras would provide extra protection for officers and the public by recording evidence which can be used in court.