Berlin police and fire brigade to be equipped with bodycams across the board. (Archive image)
© dpa
Before the end of the year, 3,000 bodycams are to be delivered to the Berlin police and fire brigade. This was announced by the Senate Department for the Interior.
cThis was made possible by an amendment to the General Security and Public Order Act (ASOG), which was passed by the Berlin House of Representatives at the beginning of December.
Accordingly, 2,300 of the small video cameras are to be delivered to the police and 700 to the fire brigade by 29 December. "This marks the final step from trial operation to daily service. The state of Berlin has invested around 3 million euros in this project," said Interior Senator Iris Spranger (SPD). Bodycams make an important contribution to preventing violence against emergency services personnel, promoting transparency in official actions and ensuring that crimes are documented in a manner that is admissible as evidence.
State Fire Director Karsten Homrighausen added that the widespread distribution of bodycams was a clear signal against violence towards emergency services personnel and in favour of protecting employees. The cameras are to be used on New Year's Eve in stations in particularly exposed areas of operation.