“Am I being filmed now?”, a hiker asks Floris Hoefakker, forester in the Breda region. “No, that is not necessary at all”, Floris reassures the man. The question is understandable because the ranger has been wearing a visible bodycam since this month, as a deterrent and for his own safety.
The Boas of Staatsbosbeheer were already equipped with pepper spray, handcuffs and batons. So now comes the bodycam. “We are happy with it because we are often alone in the countryside. It sometimes takes half an hour before the police arrive and then we have to be able to take care of ourselves until then,” says Floris.
The ranger gained experience during a trial period with the bodycam. According to him, the device certainly has an effect. “You feel safer when a situation threatens to get out of hand. When we tell people that they are being filmed, they are more likely to give up. You hold up a kind of mirror to them with the camera.”
The camera is always on, but the images are not saved until a button is pressed. The images are then saved from one minute before. In this way, the possible cause is also on camera. The material is stored in a protected cloud storage. Floris: “It’s not just any camera. There is also a lot of legislation involved.”
Stray dogs, mountain bikers who ride outside the routes or people who just leave their waste behind. Since the corona pandemic, pressure on nature has increased. “It is therefore nice that if something happens, it is no longer your word against the opponent’s. After all, all the evidence was filmed,” the ranger explains.
I see it as a necessary evil
Earlier research among police officers and boas in the cities confirms that people give up more quickly if they know they are being filmed. Floris: “I see it as a necessary evil, necessary to be able to do my work safely and properly. It’s a nice idea that it keeps people from doing weird things.”