Body worn cameras are being tested in the US and UK to protect staff

Should we expect to one day see hospital staff, or even supermarket employees, wearing a “body camera” like American police officers? Cases are being investigated in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Axon, the inventor of the taser, is one of the companies interested in this new market for “body cameras”, which are starting to equip professions other than law enforcement. Based in Arizona, this firm already equips 2,000 police forces around the world and has just launched the Axon Body Workforce, a less bulky and more colorful camera model. “This invention”says CEO Rick Smith, “marks a new chapter in the history of body-worn cameras, designed to address the violence affecting essential workers.”

Trials have been carried out since 2020, notably in two “hospital chains”, in Texas and in the west of the country. “The ideaexplains the Fast Company website, is to calm possible tensions with patients or customers, to deter thieves in a store, but also to have proof to provide to the courts if things go wrong.”

Two nurses attacked every hour in the United States

The question of body-worn cameras in a hospital or supermarket is still under debate. It’s just a variation of the surveillance camera after all, which already exists in hospitals or most stores. If we are to believe Axon, in commerce, 47% of employees have witnessed or been victims of a violent incident in their workplace. Axon looking to sell its cameras, we may need to distance ourselves a little from these figures. But according to Press Ganey, which specializes in surveys in the medical field, two nurses are attacked every hour in the United States, particularly in psychiatric, emergency and pediatric departments. The majority of these attacks are committed by patients, but they can also come from family members, colleagues or intruders.

To another degree, a psychiatrist from the Yale School of Medicine points out that the health sector is not immune to systemic racism. “Body cameras” could therefore force doctors to correct their behavior, in the same way that these cameras theoretically contribute to the fight against discrimination and police brutality.

Effectiveness still under study

Does this theoretical solution give such convincing results in reality? Let’s say that there is no irrefutable conclusion yet. Axon assures that incidents have been halved in two stores where the camera was tested. But at the same time, a study by King’s College London on the use of body cameras in a psychiatric hospital found the evidence of the system’s effectiveness limited. In the case of the police, the US Department of Justice said in 2022 that it had not noted significant effects on reducing the use of force.

The Omdia firm estimates that the body-worn camera market – worth $1.5 billion today – should double within three years. Most of this market is in the police at the moment and there are many more nurses or supermarket workers than police officers. This view, however, encounters two limits: firstly the cost of a camera – almost $1,000 plus user fees – as well as respect for patient confidentiality at the hospital. And then, do we want to live in a world where everyone films everyone?