7 Apr 2016

Share this story

Parking wardens in Christchurch will start wearing body cameras on the job to help protect them from abuse.

Christchurch City Council has decided to equip all its parking wardens with body-mounted cameras as a safety measure after conducting an eight-week trial of the equipment last year.

During that trial there was a marked drop in abusive incidents.

Council Transport Operations Manager Steffan Thomas said the main aim of the body cameras was to improve staff safety and defuse situations before they could get out of hand.

“Since the earthquakes we have noticed that people are more impatient and that has been reflected in the treatment of our parking compliance team. We’ve had staff pushed, hit and spat on,'' Mr Thomas said.

Since the start of 2015 there have been 19 incidents of abuse or violence reported by Council parking staff.

Christchurch City Council parking wardens are being kitted out with body cameras.

“During the trial we found the cameras had a very positive effect. When people saw themselves on the camera screen shouting or swearing, it served as a useful trigger for them to change their behaviour," Mr Thomas said.

The Council was mindful of privacy issues and its policy on body cameras laid out strict guidelines for their use, Mr Thomas said. Parking wardens would wear a label advising people they were wearing a camera. The camera would film continuously but would only record footage when the record button was pressed.

Offices would begin recording only when they believed their personal safety was at risk. They would inform members of the public when they began recording, and where practical, why they were doing so.

Supervisors would download any recordings taken and might forward footage to the police as evidence.

“The introduction of these cameras is all about safety, and our ultimate aim is to never turn them on,'' Mr Thomas said.

Christchurch City Council is not the first council in New Zealand to equip frontline staff with body-mounted cameras. Animal control officers and parking wardens in New Plymouth are kitted out with body cameras as are their counterparts at the Hutt City Council.