CCTV cameras for police uniforms

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Cutting edge CCTV cameras are being fixed to police uniforms in Tayside to help in the fight against crime.

The force has become the first in Scotland to pin the lightweight devices, which will be used to gather evidence, to body armour or a jacket.

The cameras will be trialled in the Perth area before being officially launched in June.

During the test period officers will only take images, but the system is also capable of recording sound.

In 2006, Tayside Police became the first in Scotland to fit CCTV cameras to the bikes of patrol officers.

Ch Supt Matt Hamilton said: "Fixed CCTV cameras are an integral part of today's society and the benefits of its use have been shown on countless occasions to assist in the capture and conviction of offenders.

It is vital that we utilise new technology to make sure we are on the cutting edge of crime fighting Ch Supt Matt Hamilton

"Body-worn digital recording systems - such as this new camera technology we will be trialling here in Perth - are a way of equipping officers with modern technology to obtain high quality primary evidence, which will assist in the investigation of crime and presentation of cases in court.

"Once the footage has been recorded the officer returns to the station, plugs in the hard drive and, whilst charging, the encrypted images are also downloading to a stand-alone system.

"It is vital that we utilise new technology to make sure we are on the cutting edge of crime fighting."

The CCTV cameras were developed by Perth-based SCS Security Design.

Managing Director, Paul Gibson, said: "The camera unit is a bespoke product small enough to be worn by a police officer on their body armour or on their jackets.

"We needed to design a system that was fit for policing purposes and one that would fit the security and encryption requirements."

The team at SCS Security Design are now working on software that will allow images from the officers' cameras to be beamed back to the CCTV control room in live time.