Disgrace that Scots cops are last to get crucial technology

THE long-awaited start of the rollout of body-worn video cameras for Scots police officers is welcome news.

- Ben Borland Scottish Express Editor

But Police Scotland is the second largest UK force behind the Met and should not be the last to get this vital technology as standard.

Every other force in the UK has been using these cameras for years. Indeed, as any TV viewer could attest, body-worn video footage is now a standard part of police documentary shows.

Chief Constable Jo Farrell was in Dundee earlier this week to see the first cops fitted with their cameras at the city's Bell Street police station.

She has made this a priority since taking up the post since October 2023, perhaps as she worked south of the Border and saw body-worn video (BWV) camera systems in action.

As for Justice Secretary Angela Constance, who was also at the launch, perhaps she should have been apologising rather than boasting.

Somehow, she kept a straight face as she said: "The use of body-worn video is supported by a world-leading £33million Scottish Government initiative for sharing digital evidence from crime scene to court room."

WORLD-LEADING? Pull the other one, Ms Constance, it's got bells on it. The former Strathclyde Police first began trialling BWV in Renfrewshire in 2006-07, before the SNP was even in power at Holyrood.