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.
A survey of 2,056 referees in England by Dr Tom Webb and Martin Cassidy for their book ‘Referees, Match Officials & Abuse’, found that more than 9 in 10 referees had been verbally abused, while 59.7% experienced some form of abuse every two games.
In cricket and rugby, around 55% of officials said they had experienced abuse when in charge of a match, while in football a staggering 93.7% of officials reported incidents of abuse. At all levels and in a range of sports, officials are under increasing pressure and scrutiny which is affecting recruitment and retention.
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 Wellbeing: 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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