The cameras will be used by prison staff during guarding activities and prisoner transport in a move which the Romanian authorities claimed would “help deter and deescalate confrontations and collect video footage in the event of conflicts or emergencies”.
Romanian prison staff will be equipped with Motorola Solutions’ next-generation VB400 body-worn cameras designed with an automated pre-recording feature that ensures incidents are captured from the start. After the end of a shift, officers will place their cameras into docks to automatically upload and store footage of the day’s events to the VideoManager evidence management solution.
The body-worn camera roll out in Romania is the latest in a series of deployments with public safety organisations across Europe by Motorola including projects with Border Police in Romania and the Gendarmerie in France. EMEA corporate vice president Michael Kaae said Motorola was continuing to see increasing demand for video security technology from public safety agencies to help frontline teams maintain safety and integrity.
Cristian Spataru, penitentiary police commissioner and detention security specialist officer with the Romanian National Administration, said: “Body-worn cameras are proven to discourage unruly behavior, and we expect our prisoners and staff to act appropriately with one another.
“In conflict situations, the cameras will provide valuable evidence so that we can better understand what occurred, resolve cases more quickly and keep our prisons as safe as possible.”
