Parents See Child Offenders On TV

Parents are being shown video evidence of their children’s anti-social behaviour on their TV screens, less than 15 minutes after it is committed. Police officers are using footage from tiny helmet cameras to prove to parents their children are offending.

The use of the cameras is being extended across the Durham force, after a trial in the Derwentside area. Officers visit the homes of youngsters and connect the cameras directly to home TVs to show parents what occurred. The cameras, which cost £1,600 each, are increasingly being used to tackle youth disorder and domestic violence.

Community inspector Adrian Green said: “We can see the potential for using the video evidence at court for what may otherwise be classed as minor offences. If we record instances of young people committing anti-social behaviour we can, in as little as 15 minutes, visit their parents and connect the camera to the TV. They can then see concrete proof in their own living room of what their children have been doing.”

An order has been placed with a Wiltshire-based manufacturer for 30 cameras to be used across the Durham force area. It is expected they will be in use by early May.

The so-called “helmetcams” are the size of an adult’s thumb.