FOI 1860 - Body Worn Cameras/ Videos

1. Which departments in your Fire Brigade/Service use Body Worn Cameras/Videos (BWC/BWV) and is this part of a pilot programme or has this been adopted on a permanent basis?

 No operational staff wear BWC/BWV.  Our Corporate Communication and Media Department use handheld cameras

2. How many BWC/BWV has your Fire Service/Brigade purchased over the last 3 years?

No BWC/BWV cameras have been purchased over the last 3 years.

3. Who is the portfolio lead for the purchase, deployment and maintenance of BWC/BWV in your Fire Brigade/Service?

The purchase request of BWC/BWV would be made by the specific department which would get reviewed by our Finance Department and finally approved by myself as a part of my Research & Development role includes procurement.

4. If you do not currently have BWC/BWV, does your Fire Brigade/Service propose to introduce BWC/BWV, and if so who would be responsible for this?

There are no current plans to introduce or purchase BWC/BWV.  If we were to purchase BWC/BWV it would start off with the department completing a purchase order and I would approve it.

5. What is the process for procuring your BWC/BWV?

There are three main ways of procuring equipment:

a.  < £5,000 - The individual within a department would identify a need for a BWC/BWV and complete a purchase order with a quote from a supplier.  The supplier will need to complete a ‘New Supplier Form’.  The purchase order, quote and new supplier forms are then sent to their specific admin hub who will process the order.  This then gets authorised by our Finance department and then sent to me to give the final approval.

b.  £5,000 - £10,000 – A lead in the department will identify the need to purchase a larger quantity of BWC/BWV.  I will then need to get 3 quotes from different suppliers.  The company we go with will need to complete a ‘New Supplier Form’ then I send the quote, purchase order and new supplier form to my departments admin hub which then goes to Finance and the then authorised by me.

c.  >£10,000 – These orders would require a business case which would get reviewed by the Senior Leadership Team.  Then pretty much the same as (b.) above.