The Welsh Assembly Government is providing £19,000 for ‘headcam’
equipment to be worn by Police Community Support Officers on the rail
network in south Wales. The aim of the project is to reduce
environmental crime and anti-social behaviour in stations and on trains
across south Wales.

The money for the Safer Trains, Safer Stations initiative – provided
through the Local Environment Quality Grant scheme – will help officers
in their work tacking graffiti and litter and other instances of
anti-social behaviour.

Speaking at the announcement at Pontypridd train station, Ms Davidson said:

This investment is about making the trains and stations thousands of
people use everyday a safer, cleaner, and more pleasant places. The
quality of our local environment plays a crucial role in our quality of
life and can significantly improve people’s health and well-being.

These cameras will equip officers with the ability to provide
quality evidence and boost their efforts to tackle anti-social
behaviour. The equipment will act as a deterrent and help make
enforcement cases stronger.

Speaking on behalf of British Transport Police, Inspector Mike Edwards said:

Our objective is to deter and detect crime, which will then create a
better and safer environment for passengers and train crew. They are
visible cameras and people will be aware that they are being filmed.
The real benefit of these cameras is that they record the actions and
words of offenders and can be produced in court as a record of an
incident.

A similar initiative recently undertaken in Plymouth by Devon and
Cornwall Constabulary, demonstrated that the cameras led to an increase
in the proportion of crimes where the offender was brought to justice,
compared with incidents where the cameras were not used.