Police Scotland’s national roll-out of body worn cameras moves west

Police Scotland’s national roll-out of body worn cameras is continuing with more officers now on duty with them in the Ayrshire and Dumfries & Galloway areas.

Around 900 officers will be provided with devices over the coming weeks. and the equipment can help to “de-escalate incidents, improve public trust in policing and reduce complaints, as well as support officer and staff safety, and bring wider benefits to the criminal justice system,” it said.

Since its introduction in March 2025, over 400,000 recordings have been captured by devices, with almost 91,000 hours of footage uploaded - of which over 27,000 media files have been exported to the force’s digital evidence sharing system, DESC.

Chief Superintendent Conrad Trickett said: “The national roll-out is a key priority for us and one of the ways we can work towards our vision of safer communities and less crime.

”The cameras and technology will improve the quality of evidence presented in court…”

“The cameras and technology will improve the quality of evidence presented in court to deliver faster justice for victims by increasing early guilty pleas and reducing the time spent at court for victims, witnesses and officers.

“Body worn video can significantly enhance public confidence and support officer and public safety by providing effective and transparent evidence of police and public interactions.”

Every frontline uniformed police officer, including Special Constables, will be expected to wear a video camera on their uniform while on duty and to activate it when using police powers, whether a stop and search, an arrest of a suspect or executing a search warrant.

Footage may be used as evidence but will not replace existing procedures and requirements when gathering all available information.

The introduction of body worn video is not intended to encourage the greater use of single police officer deployments or alter current deployment models for policing in Scotland.

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