Environment Agency enforcement officers in the North East are wearing body worn cameras as part of a six-month trial.

It is the first of its kind within the organisation and is aimed at assessing if cameras can help reduce incidents of anti-social behaviour, assaults and threats against staff, particularly those working with regulated and illegal waste sites.

If successful, body worn cameras, which are now the norm among many enforcement agencies, could be rolled out to Environment Agency teams across the country. They could be used in a variety of ways, including at visits to poor performing sites, illegal waste sites, during fisheries and navigation patrols and even during incident response.

Since the trial started in April, waste enforcement and fisheries officers have been wearing the devices during their routine activities and activate them if they encounter a hostile situation or site.

Pilot scheme

The pilot scheme comes after Environment Agency employee, Paul Whitehill, an ex-police officer, was threatened with violence when he and a fellow colleague attended an illegal waste site on a routine visit. He said:

I worked with body cameras in the police and saw how effective they can be so suggested we run a trial.

Already officers have reported that wearing the cameras has prevented threatening situations from escalating.

Environment Agency waste enforcement officers regularly encounter aggressive behaviour across the country. Since 2001, the Environment Agency has successfully prosecuted 59 cases of obstruction, hostility or threatening behaviour towards staff, 22 of which were in the North East.

‘Safety is paramount’

Rachael Caldwell from the Environment Agency’s Waste and Enforcement Department, said:

The safety of our staff is paramount. They are well trained in dealing with hostile situations and we take any threat against them very seriously. But our preference is to prevent hostility in the first place.

Studies also show that people are less likely to contest the evidence when they know their offence is captured on camera. This could help speed up justice and reduce legal costs.

Officers taking part in the pilot must follow guidelines on use of these cameras. They will not be permanently switched on and people will be informed if they are being filmed. If they are used the footage is automatically deleted after a month unless it is required for evidential purposes.

Rachael added:

Officers will only switch the cameras on if and when they enter a hostile situation. That could be a site where they have experienced aggressive behaviour in the past, or an unknown quantity where hostility may be anticipated, such as on a remote river bank.

The MMO is looking to recruit members for the North Western, North Eastern, Sussex, Southern and Cornwall Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCAs).

Each IFCA needs members who will take a balanced approach to caring for our seas, assessing the priority and importance of all users and stakeholders. The vacancies are an opportunity for someone who wants to improve the quality of the inshore area and are available in the following regions, the:

• North Western IFCA is looking for three new members; interest is welcomed from those with experience and interest in commercial fishing; recreational fishing; the marine environment; or with other relevant interest and experience.
• North Eastern IFCA is looking for three new members; applicants are encouraged who have experience and interest in commercial fishing, particularly with mobile gear; commercial/recreational sea angling; and those with a strong academic and/or scientific background. In addition, applicants from areas including Hartlepool, Durham, Sunderland and South Tyneside would be particularly welcome.
• Sussex IFCA is looking for two new members; applicants are encouraged who have experience and knowledge of commercial fishing including both mobile and fixed gear operations. Applications from throughout the Sussex IFCA district from Chichester Harbour in the west to Rye in the east are welcomed.
• Southern IFCA is looking for a new member; applicants are encouraged who have experience and interest in shellfish aquaculture.
• Cornwall IFCA is looking for a new member; applicants are encouraged who have experience and interest in commercial fishing.

Andrew Wareing, Director of Business Development and Transformation for the Marine Management Organisation, which is responsible for appointing local people with relevant expertise to the IFCAs, said:

“These are rare, exciting opportunities for people with experience and a passion for their inshore marine area to play a major part in shaping how their local area is managed. If you want to make a positive difference and help balance economic, social and environmental needs, we would be pleased to hear from you.”

The deadline for applications is midnight Monday 18 September 2017.

The role is on a voluntary basis although relevant expenses may be reimbursed.

More information on the vacancies and how to apply.

You can email ifcarecruitment@marinemanagement.org.uk or telephone 0208 225 6659 or 0208 026 5171 for more information.

Background

There are 10 IFCAs around the English coastline and they are responsible for sustainably managing sea fisheries and conservation within 6 nautical miles from shore. They have the power to make byelaws to protect resources and the environment in their area as well as also enforcing national and European fisheries legislation.

IFCAs are either committees or joint committees of the local authorities that fall within an IFC district. They are tasked with sustainably managing inshore sea fisheries and conserving their local marine environment. They are made up of representatives from local councils along with people from across the different sectors that use or are knowledgeable about the inshore marine area, such as commercial and recreational fishermen, environmental groups and marine researchers, who offer their time voluntarily.

The Marine Management Organisation, Environment Agency and Natural England also each has a statutory seat on the IFCA. Through their local management and funding structures, IFCAs help put local councils, communities and businesses, and individual citizens in the driving seat, allowing them to play a bigger part in the protection and enhancement of their inshore marine environment.

The Environment Agency consult the public on certain applications for the abstraction and impoundment of water.

These notices explain:

• what the application is about
• which Environment Agency offices you can visit to see the application documents on the public register
• when you need to comment by

Local authorities and bus companies in Bristol, York, Brighton, Surrey, Denbighshire and Wiltshire have been awarded the funding under the government’s ‘Low emission bus scheme’ to help them buy 153 cleaner buses.

The successful bidders will use the funding to buy new electric and gas buses, and to install stations to fuel or charge them.

The government is determined to clean up air in towns and cities across the country, and today’s (28 August 2017) investment in green buses comes after our air quality plan was published last month.

Transport Minister Paul Maynard said:

Low emission buses are an important part of our plans to make motoring cleaner and improve air quality across the country.

New greener buses will be more comfortable for passengers, they are cost efficient and are good for the environment.

I am pleased to announce this latest group of successful bidders, which should make a real difference to air quality in towns and cities across the country.

The successful bidders are:

• Denbighshire County Council, Wales – £500,000 for 4 electric buses to be used on services in mid-Denbighshire
• City of York Council – £3.3 million for 24 electric buses to be used on park and ride services in York
• South Gloucestershire Council – £4.8 million for 110 gas buses for services around Bristol
• Surrey County Council, Guildford – £1.5 million for 9 electric buses to be used on park and ride services in Guildford
• The Big Lemon, £500,000 for 3 electric buses to be used in the Brighton area
• Go South Coast / Wiltshire County Council – £500,000 for 3 electric buses to be used on park and ride services around Salisbury

The government’s support for low emission buses is one part of a £600 million package of measures from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles by 2020, plus £270 million announced in the 2016 Autumn Statement to support the roll out of low emission cars, taxis and buses and supporting infrastructure.

This follows an initial £30 million awarded to bus companies and local councils in July 2016 under the ‘Low emission bus scheme’ to help put over 300 more low emission buses on the country’s roads.

Later this year, the government will also publish plans for a second round of the ‘Low emission bus scheme’ with a view to putting even more of the cleanest buses on our streets.

Almost £500,000 will be awarded to community projects to tackle the blight of littering, Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey announced today.

The money will support the development of new innovation and approaches for tackling litter, from behavioural research for better positioned bins and recycling points so more people throw their rubbish away, to digital technology. This includes apps and ‘smart-bins’ that can text alerts to rubbish collectors when they are full, stopping nasty litter from spilling out onto our high streets or leading people to litter nearby.

Cleaning up the country’s streets costs the tax payer almost £800 million a year when much of this is avoidable litter, and money that could be better spent in the community.

Despite this, a worrying 1 in 5 people have admitted to dropping litter in the past. As we head into the bank holiday weekend, with people out enjoying the warm weather, they are reminded to throw their rubbish in bins or take their rubbish home, rather than spoil our spaces with rubbish.

The Litter Innovation Fund will support local areas to crack down and reduce littering in our communities by enabling local authorities, community groups, charities, educational institutions, and small and medium enterprises to apply for funding towards innovative and creative solutions to the problem.

Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey, said:

Tackling the litter that blights streets across our country is an important part of our drive to be the first generation to leave our environment in a better state than we found it. I pay tribute to those who help clear up our pavements and verges.

The Litter Innovation Fund offers a great opportunity for the most creative solutions to littering to receive funding and for us all to learn new ways of how to stop littering happening. 10% of the fund is entirely dedicated to preventing marine litter, a growing problem with global consequences for our precious marine environment.

I encourage groups to get involved and showcase the wealth of options there are out there to tackle littering. Let’s help people make the right choices.

Communities Minister Marcus Jones, said:

The Litter Strategy detailed our plans on education and awareness, improving enforcement and better cleaning and infrastructure. I said in that strategy that I am passionate about our need to reduce litter in this country and I meant it.

Many areas are similarly keen to tackle litter locally by encouraging their communities to bin their rubbish properly rather than littering their streets and green spaces.

We are looking to support the most creative plans with a funding boost from the Litter Innovation Fund.

Welcoming the fund’s launch, Keep Britain Tidy Chief Executive Allison Ogden-Newton, said:

Innovation is vital if we are to change the behaviour of the minority of people who still think it is OK to drop their rubbish on the ground for someone else to pick up.

Keep Britain Tidy’s Centre for Social Innovation was created to develop and test new approaches to behaviour change and we are delighted to see the Government has recognised the importance of innovation to tackle the blight of littering in our country.

All projects will be measured and evaluated to assess their effectiveness and the most successful could be rolled out more widely. This will ensure local authorities and communities make the best use of a host of innovative solutions in focussing their resources to tackle the scourge of litter.

In addition, some £45,000 of the fund will be exclusively dedicated to projects designed to address marine littering and help prevent the amount of plastic entering our oceans.

The fund builds on the Government’s wider Litter Strategy for England and the Government today has also published responses to the public consultation on penalties for environmental offences including littering.

Information for applicants to the Litter Innovation Fund can be found on WRAP’s website from 10am on Saturday 26 August.

For further information please contact Defra press office on out of hours on 0345 051 8486.