Call for bodycams for Glasgow’s street cleaners

15th of August 2018
Call for bodycams for Glasgow’s street cleaners

Calls for street cleaners in Glasgow to be equipped with body cameras have followed a spate of verbal and physical attacks.

Bottles have been hurled at the Scottish city's street cleaning staff who have also been subjected to verbal abuse and pranks.

A spokesman from the council cleansing section of the UK's general trade union GMB said: "We're working with large crowds of drunk people outside kebab and chip shops and they're flinging things everywhere. We have people driving by, shouting at us and even throwing bottles.

"Body cameras would be a good deterrent to people who may abuse us - particularly since street cleaners sometimes have to move away from the group and work alone for periods of five to ten minutes."

In other recent incidents, drunk revellers have pretended to jump in front of cleaning service vehicles as a prank.

The idea of body cameras was first mooted by Glasgow City Council councillor Paul Carey and the scheme has been backed by trade union UNISON as well as the GMB.

Carey introduced body cameras for traffic wardens when chairing the council's city parking committee in 2012 - a move that is claimed to have dramatically reduced abuse of staff. "Once people realise they're being recorded their whole manner and language suddenly changes," said Carey.

 

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