Fisheries patrol officers to wear body cameras

All Queensland fisheries patrol officers will be required to wear cameras to record interactions with the public, Acting Fisheries Minister Dr Anthony Lynham announced today.

“This initiative comes as 20 additional patrol officers started work this month as part of the government’s commitment to vastly improved compliance and data gathering to support better management of our fisheries resources,” Dr Lynham said.

“This is a new era in fisheries management and it is appropriate that our front line officers have the tools they require to do their jobs as efficiently as possible.”

Cameras will then be rolled out at Redlands, Gold Coast, Mooloolaba and Noosa in coming weeks, with the rest of the Patrol to be progressively brought onto the system by early next year.

Dr Lynham said data would only be reviewed on an “as-needs” basis, and would be stored in a secure environment.

“All interactions with the public will be recorded, but recorded information will only be reviewed if necessary,” he said.

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