Royal Virgin Islands Police Force officers are now authorised to wear audio and video recording devices while on duty, according to new police regulations published in Friday’s issue of the BVI Gazette.
The RVIPF didn’t release any information regarding the new equipment, but according to an amendment to the Police Regulations authorised by Governor Boyd McCleary, appropriately trained and authorised officers can now utilise “body worn cameras.”
In January, Deputy Police Commissioner Alwin James first announced the plan to introduce body cameras to the force. Mr. James said at the time that they would be used by officers who carry firearms.
Body cameras have been introduced in other jurisdictions as well, and an initial study in the United States found that they had positive results.
A study published by policefoundation.org found a 50 percent reduction in total incidents of use of force and an 88 percent drop in complaints against officers in a 12-month experiment conducted in the Rialto Police Department in California.
The findings also suggested that officer body cameras improved the behaviour of citizens when interacting with the police.
“Members of the public with whom the officers communicated were also aware of being videotaped and therefore were likely to be cognizant that they ought to act cooperatively,” the study concluded.
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