Almost three-quarters of employees at Certas Energy find customers less aggressive since the fuel and forecourt provider invested £48k in body-worn cameras.
Around 100 bodycams have been rolled out across 40 of Certas Energy’s Gulf forecourts after a staff survey highlighted concerns around antisocial behaviour on site.
Over half of respondents strongly agreed that a daily portion of their time is spent dealing with abusive behaviour, with the same amount encountering one or more instances of physical or verbal threats per week.
Since the rollout, there has been an immediate drop in safety incidents and a significant boost in staff comfort levels when on shift, said the company.
Employees unanimously agreed that they felt more reassured wearing the devices, highlighting the “definite need” for bodycams for staff.
An anonymous respondent who took part in the trial said: “During the period with the body cams, the way people talk and interact with me and my colleagues has improved and customers are more polite. I believe that it also helps to reduce violence against us and makes thieves think twice.”
The body cameras record in 15-minute intervals when switched on by staff when an incident is occurring or about to occur.
Almost three-quarters of staff agreed that the cameras reassured them of the ability to provide evidence of incidents and allegations.
“We want our staff to feel safe and be treated with respect. Abuse should not be part of their working day,” said Mark Harrington, Certas Energy area manager for the North East.
“We’ve found that simply the presence of the cameras – clipped to staff’s polo shirts or jackets – has been a huge deterrent against antisocial behaviour and has gone a long way toward making staff feel safer
“The cameras have helped my teams feel they aren’t powerless against antisocial behaviour and that there are steps they can safely take to help tackle it.”
The investment is the latest project in the company’s ‘zero harm in the workplace’ ambition.
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