Swiss Federal Railways to use bodycams for safety
Swiss Federal Railways is testing the use of bodycams. They are intended to contribute to safety on public transport by de-escalating conflicts and to serve as evidence.
The transport police are aiming to introduce bodycams for trained police officers, according to information given to the Swiss News Agency Keystone-SDA. As soon as the Federal Railways has made a final decision, it will provide information about the procedure and operational doctrine.
The planned deployment was announced internally by Michael Perler, the commander of the transport police force, according to a report in the SonntagsBlick newspaper. The introduction of bodycams will be completed by the end of June 2024, it said. Federal Railways spokesperson Reto Schärli did not want to commit to a date for the introduction of the bodycams in the report.
The project, which has been planned for several years, is to be implemented in the coming months after clarification of questions relating to data protection and the integration of the new system into the Federal Railways’ IT system, the report continued.
Such cameras were already tested by the transport police in Zurich and Lausanne from March 2017 to January 2018. The Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) had approved the test operation. According to the Federal Railways, the results were positive, which is why the work for a possible introduction was continued in coordination with the FDPIC.
Bodycams are small cameras that are attached directly to the police officer’s uniform. The cameras are to be used when private individuals are stopped or checked in public spaces.
Adapted from German by DeepL/dkk/ts
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