Page 20 - WMPF Federation June-July 2021_Neat

Conference Day 2 - Farley Auditorium

Forces urged to be

braver in releasing

body-worn video

olice forces need to be braver in
releasing body-worn video in response
Pto officers being tried on social media,
the Police Federation’s annual conference
has heard.
John Apter, chair of the Federation, said
that where it was appropriate and legally
sound to do so, body-worn video (BWV)
should be made public to counterbalance
unfair, edited and out of context social media
clips.
John said: “Forces need to be braver in
putting body-worn video out to redress the
balance. It’s incumbent on us as Federations
to liaise with our chief officer team and,
where we’re legally able to do this, we need
to push out that body-worn video because
what it does show, invariably, is certainly not
what is being portrayed in that 20-second
clip.
“If you look at the context, it shows that
police officers are doing incredibly well in the
most difficult and challenging of Federation chair John Apter (left) with Robert Rinder (centre) and Danny Shaw.
circumstances.”
John was speaking during a session on “What myself and my family has gone the law, but it’s understanding you are in the
Day 2 of the conference titled Trial By Media through is crushing and still haunts us presence of people filming you and that
alongside criminal barrister and TV today,” they said, “I don’t want anyone to go radically changes the complexion of how you
broadcaster Robert Rinder and former BBC through what I have when I was simply police and communicate, and that needs
home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw. doing my job.” training and thinking.
In a vote of delegates, 93 per cent said Robert Rinder called for a transformation “Policing in 2021 needs a meaningful,
they wanted forces to share BWV to set the of the way policing responds when officers creative, national strategy about how our
record straight when footage of incidents are vilified in the media. community police communicate on social
were posted on social media. He said: “There needs to be better media and use those channels for
The session began with an anonymous training for young officers, for everybody out themselves.”
officer sharing their harrowing experience of there, especially if you’re doing on the beat Robert added: “We have a 1990s – at best
being vilified on social media. policing. It’s about understanding not just – media response to a 2021 media
landscape.”
“ It’s about understanding not just the law, but it’s at criminal justice and communications
Danny Shaw, head of strategy and insight
consultancy Crest Advisory, said there was a
understanding you are in the presence of
distinction between mainstream and social
media, and how they treat the types of clips
people filming you and that radically changes
He said:“There’s a difference between

the complexion of how you police and being discussed.
mainstream media and social media. It’s a bit
communicate, and that needs training and like walking into a private members’ club on a
quiet Saturday afternoon and going into a
thinking. pub at closing time. People are shouting at
each other on social media, mainstream
media has a filter.”

20 federation June/July 2021 www.polfed.org/westmids

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