NSW Police signals body-worn cameras change after Four Corners investigation

Changes have been flagged to the way NSW Police officers use body-worn cameras. (Four Corners) Officers using a police power will be obliged to immediately start recording using body-worn cameras, under operating changes flagged by NSW Police. It comes after a Four Corners investigation revealed a number of disturbing cases of police brutality since 2020. The change will bring NSW into line with all other Australian states except for WA, which maintains a discretionary approach to body-worn camera use. Link copiedShareShare articleNSW Police has announced it will move to the mandatory use of body-worn video for its thousands of sworn officers in the wake of a Four Corners story revealing allegations of a culture of impunity within the police. Four Corners revealed a series of disturbing cases of police brutality since 2020 amid a sharp rise in complaints and civil suits over the last decade. "Last night's episode of Four Corners, which myself and many others obviously watched, was very confronting," Assistant Commissioner Peter Cotter, who is responsible for all NSW Police internal investigations, told 702 ABC Sydney's Craig Reucassel. Assistant Commissioner Cotter said a review of the standard operating procedures for body-worn video was underway and would lead to change. Assistant Police Commissioner Peter Cotter denies there is a culture of cover-up within NSW Police. (ABC News) He noted the decision had not yet been formally agreed to by the commissioner, but he noted the most important anticipated change. "When we're going to be using force or using a power, yeah, they [NSW Police Force body-worn cameras] will be switched on and recording," he said. A NSW Police spokesman later confirmed to the ABC that the police would be making the change. That means whenever an officer uses a police power — from stopping people in the street all the way to the appropriate use of violence — they will be obliged to immediately commence recording. At the moment, the use of body-worn cameras by NSW Police officers has been discretionary, meaning there have been no strict rules about when they should turn it on and individual officers have been able to make their own choices. A review of the standard operating procedures for body-worn video cameras is already underway. (Four Corners: Sissy Reyes) As documented in Four Corners, that led officers to not turn on their cameras until after people were arrested, muting their cameras during relevant moments, or simply not carrying a camera at all. The change will be welcomed by the NSW Police watchdog, the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission, which has been pushing for it since 2023. It will also bring NSW into line with all other Australian states, except for Western Australia, which continues to maintain a discretionary approach to body-worn camera use. NSW Greens' justice spokesperson Sue Higginson said Tuesday's commitment did not go far enough. "The requirement mandating the use of body-worn video should be a legal requirement, not just in police-controlled operating manuals." The Police Association of NSW said it supported the use of body-worn cameras and would continue to work with the force on policy changes. Four Corners included two cases of Sydney women living with mental illness who were assaulted by police. Jodi Knott was the victim of a 15-minute assault by NSW Police officers Nathan Black and Timothy Trautsch in 2023, while she was naked on a public street and experiencing a psychotic episode. In October last year, Black and Trautsch were jailed for common assault. Black received a non-parole period of three years and three months and Trautsch received three years. The family of a woman brutally assaulted by police in a Sydney street has fought to have body-worn camera vision released. Samantha Testalamuta, who lives with bipolar disorder, was repeatedly punched by two junior officers who were responding to a noise complaint at her house in December last year. The officers intended to charge her with assaulting police, but the arrest was discontinued. Police told Four Corners they had investigated and taken "appropriate action" against the two officers involved but declined to say what those actions were and they remain on the force. In response, the two major psychiatry bodies in Australia, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) and the Australian Society of Psychiatrists (ASOP), called for urgent reform. "The footage shown on Four Corners was sickening," ASOP chief executive Pramudie Gunaratne said. "Behind every incident is a human being at one of the most vulnerable moments of their life, often frightened, confused, unwell and unable to understand what is happening around them. "The question raised by Four Corners is not simply whether individual decisions were right or wrong. Almost all other states and territories mandate the use of body-worn cameras for police officers. (Four Corners) Respond

NSW Police signals body-worn cameras change after Four Corners investigation

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