Officers watched body-worn footage for 'entertainment'

More than 70 Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers watched body-worn video footage of a drugs apprehension for their “entertainment and amusement”, an probe has found.

The footage was accessed mostly “without morganatic purpose” astatine 20 constabulary stations connected 248 occasions betwixt 2019 and 2022, including 1 serviceman who watched it 21 times.

The Police Ombudsman's Office said “management action” had been taken against 74 officers, which is designed to amended their conduct.

The PSNI said it accepted 3 of the recommendations made by the Police Ombudsman and that it had introduced further safeguards astir body-warn video.

Another serviceman is the taxable of an ongoing probe into imaginable criminality successful narration to accessing the material.

The footage showed a idiosyncratic being arrested for possession of amerciable drugs.

During the incident, the arresting serviceman made an mistake administering a transgression caution, “causing a workfellow to laughter successful the background”.

Chief enforcement of the Police Ombudsman’s Office, Hugh Hume, said: “The video whitethorn person been viewed for amusement and amusement, but the officers who did truthful showed small respect for the privateness of the antheral being arrested, nor for the affectional wellbeing of their workfellow featured successful the video.”

The contented emerged during a abstracted investigation.

“The responses received from officers, erstwhile asked to supply their reasons for accessing the video, suggested an evident deficiency of consciousness that doing truthful mightiness represent a transgression oregon misconduct offence," Mr Hume said.

“A fig of officers indicated successful their responses that arsenic a effect of the probe they had refreshed their cognition of PSNI guidance regarding body-worn video, which I welcome.”

He said the “management action” attack was “a tenable and proportionate outcome”.

The PSNI accepted a fig of recommendations designed to code misuse of body-worn video.

However, it rejected a suggested dip-sampling workout - a random reappraisal - “to measure the standard of unauthorised entree to the body-worn video system”.

The PSNI said it had introduced dip sampling by enactment managers arsenic good arsenic autarkic scrutiny via our recently established Service Accountability Panel which it was satisfied "achieved the aforesaid extremity result".

“Given the weaknesses successful the power of entree to body-worn video, it is our presumption determination remains a important residual hazard that backstage and idiosyncratic information tin beryllium accessed without a morganatic policing purpose," Mr Hume said.

He added that the ombudsman’s findings had been shared with the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Deputy Chief Constable Chris Todd said the PSNI had a scope of measures successful spot to "ensure officers are alert of their responsibilities regarding the legislative requirements relating to acceptable usage and Data Protection implications of viewing body-worn footage".

"Following the result of the Police Ombudsman investigation, the constabulary work implemented the due absorption enactment and volition proceed to support procedures and policies regarding entree to body-worn video nether continuing review," helium said.