New trial to fit prison guards with body cameras

Pilot project aims to improve security for prison staff

In a bid to increase security for prison staff, a new pilot project in Vestre Fængsel and Køge Arrest will fit prison guards with body cameras to record instances involving the physical and verbal abuse of staff.

The trial, which will initially run for three months, has been launched on the heels of a 17-point security taskforce established by the justice minister, Søren Pape Poulsen, earlier this year.

“We need to protect those who keep the order in our prisons every day. The new cameras will make it easier to crack down on inmates who expose prison staff to threats and violence, and it will hopefully have a preventative effect,” said Poulsen.

“The safety of prison staff is paramount to me as I prepare to discuss the financial framework for the criminal authority with the other parties. No staff in Danish prisons should be afraid of going to work.”

READ MORE: New British film laughs at the soft nature of Danish prisons

Results pending
The small cameras will be fitted on the chests of the prison staff’s shirts and the plan also includes cameras being installed inside prison vehicles to monitor what transpires inside the cars.

Based on the experience of this pilot project, it will be decided in the future whether the camera initiative should be expanded to include other prisons.





  • How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    Being part of a trade union is a long-established norm for Danes. But many internationals do not join unions – instead enduring workers’ rights violations. Find out how joining a union could benefit you, and how to go about it.

  • Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals are overrepresented in the lowest-paid fields of agriculture, transport, cleaning, hotels and restaurants, and construction – industries that classically lack collective agreements. A new analysis from the Workers’ Union’s Business Council suggests that internationals rarely join trade unions – but if they did, it would generate better industry standards.

  • Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    The numbers are especially striking amongst the 3,477 business and economics students polled, of whom 31 percent elected Novo Nordisk as their favorite, compared with 20 percent last year.