Body-worn cameras essential for every prison officer

In a guest blog, our National Secretary for the Justice and Custodial sector Gavin Miller sets out the importance of body-worn cameras for our members working in prisons.

The risk of being assaulted at work remains one of the biggest barriers to recruitment and retention in the prisons sector.

Our members who work in prisons across the UK are brave and committed individuals – but they are still human. No one wants or deserves to go to work with the fear that they will physically attacked in the line of their duties, but that is the bleak reality for many across the justice and custodial sector.

The most recently available data suggests that the epidemic of violence against justice sector workers is not just ongoing but worsening. Last year in Scotland a prison officer was assaulted by an inmate almost every day, with the highest number of recorded attacks on staff in five years.

Community’s ongoing Keep Us Safe campaign has helped draw a spotlight on these issues, and led to the publication of our first ‘Beyond Bars’ report with Public First in 2024. It’s our view that safety remains one of the most pressing issue within the justice and custodial sector.

Our campaign looks at different steps the UK and Scottish Government, including tougher responses to assaults on prison workers, as well as wider action on tackling overcrowding, the introduction of minimum staffing levels, and improved prisoner rehabilitation and resettlement policy.

Equipment is also a key concern, and one immediate and practical step the government can take is to ensure that all prison officers, in both the public and private sectors, have access to essential protective equipment. This includes body armour and body-worn cameras, which are necessary to safeguard staff from harm and create a safer environment for both officers and those in custody. Body-worn cameras enable staff to record instances of violent and threatening behaviour, and serve as a deterrent, with studies suggesting they can prompt a de-escalation of tense situations.

Following representations from Community and other justice unions, in 2023 the UK Government legislated to ensure that every prison officer in the public sector England and Wales has access to a body-worn camera on shift. Many private sector providers have followed suit.

In 2025 the Scottish government announced plans for a roll-out of body-worn cameras across the Scottish Prison Service. This was an example of the public sector catching up with the private sector in Scotland. Our members at HMP Addiewell, run by Sodexo, have been using body-worn cameras for a number of years, and in 2022 HM Inspectorate for Prisons for Scotland highlighted Addiewell as ‘unquestionably leading edge within the Scottish Prison system’ for its use of technology.

The Scottish Government is currently procuring a fully-managed, body-worn camera system for Scotland’s other 16 prisons. We hope that the tender process results in a robust system being put in place as soon as possible. Scotland’s prison officers and staff deserve nothing less.

In the meantime, we’ll continue our campaigning work across all justice and custodial sector workplaces. Things can’t go as they are, and we will continue to work with all stakeholders to take forward our recommendations on ending the prison overpopulation crisis; recruiting and retaining frontline staff; and keeping justice workers and the public safe.