Driving Examiners to wear body cameras
Posted 25 January 2023 — Anyone
Driving examiners to wear body worn cameras
From today (25 January) driving examiners will begin to wear body worn cameras to help tackle an increase in abuse.
DVSA have taken this decision due to an increase in unacceptable violent and abusive incidents against driving examiners since testing restarted after the pandemic restrictions.
Although the most recent figures show incidents of abuse have dropped since, they still remain on course to be higher than before the pandemic.
When the cameras will be used
The cameras will be an essential part of uniform, for examiners’ safety.
They will only be switched on if the examiner feels threatened or to capture inappropriate behaviour. The footage, where appropriate, will be used to prosecute offenders if abuse occurs.
The cameras cannot be used to dispute a candidate’s test result.
Letting your pupils know
Please inform your pupils and candidates that they will start to see examiners wearing body cameras.
Please remind them of the serious consequences of abusing an examiner, which might include cancelled tests or even prosecution.
Body worn cameras are not new to DVSA, our enforcement examiners tackling road-side issues have worn them for several years.