POLICE officers in Waverley have been equipped with new body worn cameras to take videos of incidents they are called to.

More than 150 personal issue cameras were distributed to frontline officers in the Waverley and Guildford areas ahead of the festive period, with plans to roll-out across the rest of the county to be confirmed in the new year.

The area patrol teams (APT) in Waverley and Guildford were issued with 154 video cameras across the two boroughs as officers came on shift late in December.

According to Surrey Police, body-worn cameras are an essential tool in delivering the force’s vision of making it the safest county it can be.

As well as increasing the transparency and accountability of the force, the use of body worn cameras has been shown to increase early guilty pleas due to the availability of digital evidence, quickly defuse confrontational situations, and protect officers from inaccurate complaints.

Chief Superintendent Jon Savell, divisional commander for West Surrey, said: “The introduction of body worn video across Guildford and Waverley is a real step forward for both the public and our officers.

“I have no doubt that the public will see no difference as to how our officers interact with them, and I am sure they will see the benefit in the collection of better evidence in order to pursue offenders to prevent and detect crime.”

Cameras are not on all the time. Officers press ‘record’ when they respond and turn them off after an incident has been dealt with.