Canal bosses to issue workers with bodycams
THE Canal and River Trust, which runs waterways in our area, is to issue security cameras to staff carrying out day-to-day duties on towpaths for the first time to tackle yobbish behaviour.
Earlier this summer, police were forced to intervene to stop young people jumping into the Ashby Canal after some even landed on boats as they passed below. At the same spot, a man was shoved into the canal from behind while other people complained of abusive behaviour.
The trust, which manages canals and rivers in England and Wales, has admitted that poor behaviour “is on the increase”, insisting that it would “not tolerate assaults” on staff members, volunteers or contractors.
Last month, a man was jailed in Manchester after sexually assaulting 20 women and girls on canal and river paths.
There has been a rise in the popularity of waterways with more boats on the canal network than during the height of the industrial revolution.
Figures published in March showed that 35,130 people held boat licences for rivers and canals — up by 8 per cent in almost a decade. Of those, about a quarter are “liveaboard” boats that can be used as homes.
There has also been a surge in demand for the hiring of narrow boats for holidays and social gatherings during the past 18 months because of restrictions on foreign travel.
The trust said the overwhelming majority of people used rivers and canals responsibly, with towpaths “still a place where people stop and say hello”.
However, it said that reports of antisocial behaviour were on the rise, with concerns about “confrontation, abuse and harm” against staff and volunteers working on the network.
Cameras will initially be given to workers in the southeast this month followed by a potential roll-out elsewhere on the 2,000 miles of waterways managed by the trust. The charity has 1,600 staff members and thousands more volunteers.
A trust spokesman said: “Many of our colleagues frequently work alone on the towpath so, alongside other procedures, the body-worn cameras will be a tool to support them while they go about their daily jobs. “The use of cameras will provide legally admissible evidence if we need to act against those who abuse or threaten colleagues or customers.
“Whilst instances of poor behaviour are rare, like other areas of society it is on the increase and the trust will not tolerate assaults on employees, volunteers or contractors and other customers.
“Offenders will be dealt with robustly and the trust will seek to bring criminal proceedings against those responsible where necessary.”
Body worn cameras have become increasingly familiar in other areas of society, for example on trains, hospitals and retail settings. Many frontline emergency services deploy them across their workforce in response to an increase in threatening and abusive behaviour.
The use of cameras will provide legally admissable evidence if we need to act.
Canal and River Trust