Evidently the latest crime-fighting gadget, a cigar-sized camera attached to a police helmet, has gone up in smoke after problems with its batteries setting on fire.
The £1,700 devices, which are strapped on to helmets or under caps, record video and sound as evidence to present in court and were introduced nationwide in a £3 million Home Office scheme two years ago. However, frontline officers now want reassurances that they are not in danger of a hair raising experience because of faulty wiring in the devices' chargers.
The battery packs to at least two of the cameras being used by Metropolitan Police officers started smoking while being charged.
The chargers concerned had been withdrawn, and Scotland Yard is now in discussion with the manufacturer about replacements.
Half of the borough police units of Greater London have purchased between one and ten mini cameras.
They are used by patrolling police officers to film rowdy late-night scenes, underage drinkers, controversial stop and search confrontations and domestic violence incidents.
The cameras can store up to 400 hours of footage with soundtrack on their hard drive, with a battery life of eight to 12 hours.
A spokesman for the Met said: "There have been a very small number of incidents involving battery chargers that have emitted smoke - as explained above, these chargers are office-based and not carried on the officer's person."
So that was the reason for the “hot-headed police” action against protesters earlier this year……Any old excuse!!!!!
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