Portsmouth bike officers gather essential
evidence
by Insp. Steve Baxter
Portsmouth Police (UK)
Evidence provided by video footage
can be the most compelling and successful in convicting the perpetrators
of criminal activity. In my force, the use of cameras teams, known as Evidence
Gathering Teams (EGT), in public order situations has proved over the years
to be extremely beneficial in capturing that vital evidence which obtains
the guilty plea or verdict at court.
It occurred to PC Andy Burnham, an IPMBA police and EMS instructor, in
Portsmouth, Hampshire, that cameras could assist him with juvenile offenders
in his community beat area. But how could one use a camera and ride a bike?
Researching the internet, Andy found a company that could supply a camera
lens that could be mounted on the peak of a cycle helmet, as shown in the
photograph.
The lens is connected to a normal digital video camera and battery pack that
is carried in a vest worn by the rider. The camera is operated by a remote
button clipped to the vest in a position that the rider finds most comfortable
and convenient, and the leads are safely stashed away in the vest.
With this new camera system, Andy is able to film anything going on directly
in front of him.
The new 'helmet cam' was an almost immediate success. The abusive juveniles
soon realised that their antics made for great court room viewing and learnt
to be on their best behaviour when he was on patrol. The success resulted
in national press coverage touting the helmet cam as a means of addressing
anti-social behaviour. Andy now had to endure being called "Inspector Gadget",
but in comparison to the some of the abuse he had received, this was something
that he could live with!
Initially, there was some concern that using the camera was a breach of privacy
laws; however, because the use is overt and does not specifically target
any one individual - unless an offence is actually being committed in front
of the officer - it is not believed to be a legal problem.
When we looked to develop the use of bike patrols into more pro-active tasks,
the 'helmet cam' became an obvious advantage in anything that we did.
In Portsmouth, we have a particular problem with football violence. We target
this with many tactical options, one of which is our EGT's. These officers
go out and film gathering fans both for intelligence and possible evidential
purposes. However, because the EGTs are typically on foot, their range was
limited to the area within a short distance of the stadium.
Having read about Mike Goetz and his use of bikes in crowd management situations,
I put forward a suggestion to my boss that the bikes could fulfil the dual
role of EGT and crowd management at football matches.
Used in a reconnaissance role, our cycle officers have proved a great asset.
Due to their flexibility, ability to cut through traffic and extra 'range',
they are able to watch over rival fans further away from the stadium than
before. They act as an early warning system, detecting and addressing potential
problems before they have chance to become serious.
The first time that bikes were deployed at football, some of our trouble
fans were less than complimentary and were very willing to pass on their
views! However, they soon learnt to their cost that cycle officers could
not only provide a highly visible presence, similar to the Mike Goetz 'post'
assignment, but that they could also film what goes on! As word got around,
it had a very calming effect.
The footage obtained by these officers has been in addition to the footage
obtained by the more usual EGT methods and local authority CCTV systems.
However, three convictions this past season have been as a direct result
of footage captured by bike teams.
For most matches we deploy a six-officer team in pairs. One of each pair
is the camera operator and the second is the cover officer. One of these
pairs will contain the sergeant in charge. Each pair is deployed with its
own sector of responsibility regarding crowd reconnaissance, but if required
they can form up as team to employ basic public order cordon tactics. They
can perform the filter cordon - a simple tactic to break crowds as they progress
along a road - or can quickly block junctions with a tight cordon (barrier
tactic) until reinforced or replaced by foot officers. The bikes have an
advantage in that they quickly outflank crowds and block off routes that
would otherwise be available to them, because of the time taken for foot
officers to deploy or for vans to get through traffic.
Bikes have also been deployed alongside riot-trained officers. They have
used a tactic very similar to the foot officer 'free running line', in which
a team of officers run at a crowd with the intent of dispersing them. The
bikes have ridden towards groups of troublesome fans who are reluctant to
move on. This has proved successful at keeping fans on the move. However,
it is accepted that if fans refuse to move and physically challenge the bikes,
it is best to withdraw a short distance and film the crowd behaviour until
properly equipped foot officers can intervene, rather than become involved
in a fight whilst attempting to retain the bicycles.
We have also had great success in using the bikes in this way alongside
horse-mounted officers.
Recent very serious violence between rival fans also found bike officers
very quickly developing their skills in making use of the bike as a weapon
of self defence!
We have learnt a great deal from our first season. With that experience behind
us, I am developing bicycle public order tactics with the assistance of my
public order training department.
It is not only the tactics that we are developing. With more and more use
of the helmet cam, we have discovered ways to improve the system. For example,
there is no facility to make use of the zoom capability of the camera with
current remote system. Therefore distance is an enemy unless the rider can
stop, disconnect the camera, and use it in its normal handheld capacity.
In addition, the mount on the peak is set a few inches above the rider's
eyeline; as a result, occasionally the footage has been slightly high.
The next step is to introduce a 'wireless' system using the new IT that has
been developed.
We want to be able to relay the footage being captured in real time to commanders
in control room so that they can see exactly what the officers are facing.
This will allow for better planning and tactical decision-making. For those
of us who are used to being on the receiving end of some fairly dodgy
decision-making this can only be great plus!
We are in discussion with IT companies and hope to trial a suitable system
this summer and deploy cameras with wireless relay in time for the new season.
We also hope to have the lens of the camera built into or attached to the
frame of the glasses worn by the officer, so that the camera sees exactly
what they do.
The use of bikes is developing fast and the only boundary seems to be a lack
of imagination. We are doing our best to push that boundary as far as possible.
Steve is an inspector with the Hampshire Police. He has a special interest
in the use of bikes for public order and attended the 2004 IPMBA conference
in San Antonio. He is currently serving on the IPMBA UK steering committee.
He can be reached at
stephen.baxter@hampshire.pnn.police.uk.
© 2005 IPMBA. This article appeared in the Spring 2005 issue of IPMBA
News. |
