Serving to deter aggression and abuse directed at sports officials, Reveal body cameras are at the forefront of this growing body camera use case.
Verbal, physical and threatening abuse towards sports officials, even young referees under the age of 18, seems to have only increased with new research suggesting it's reached a crisis point.
According to a 2017 survey conducted by the National Association of Sports Officials, 87 percent of the 17,000 referee participants suffered verbal abuse in their role as officials. Thirteen percent said they had been subjected to a physical assault before, during, or after a game. That’s almost one out of every seven officials claiming abuse of some sort. Since then, there has been a growing trend in sports official shortages and especially at the grassroots level. NASO estimated in 2022 that 30 percent of officials had not returned since the pandemic – and of those, between 20 and 25 percent are expected to never come back. Since March 2020, NASO’s membership has dropped from 29,000 to 23,000.
Reveal body camera solutions assist in reducing the number of incidents in sporting events by deterring, de-escalating and documenting verbal and physical aggression.
1. Deterring, De-escalating, and Documenting Violence and Aggression: Reveal body cameras are specifically designed to prevent situations from escalating. By displaying footage on the front-facing screen in real-time as it is being recorded, the behaviour of those on both sides of the lens is calmed and tensions are diffused. Just wearing the device can be enough to prevent some incidents from ever happening. Should the worst happen, there will be visual and audio evidence of the event, including up to 120 seconds prior to the recording starting according to which model used.
2. Ensuring Transparency and Accountability:Reveal body cameras capture first-hand video and audio recordings, providing indisputable evidence that enhances transparency and accountability among referees, players, coaches, and spectators. That evidence is securely hosted in DEMS 360 where it can be accessed by authorised personnel and shared as appropriate.
3. Boosting Confidence and Well-being:Equipping sports officials with body-worn cameras has proven to improve their confidence. They feel supported, knowing that the actions captured can ensure incidents are accurately reported and resolved swiftly.
"The other great benefit is realising that [the cameras] are there for support, not surveillance. So it really allows my officials to be able to interact with players in an open and honest and straightforward way... It gives context at all times, which pulls every call into a very sharp focus.”
Fergus GouldExecutive Director, United States Polo Association Umpires LLC
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