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.”
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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.
