The Ministry will issue Body Worn Cameras (BWC) to its Bailiffs from 31 October, to improve the health and safety of Bailiffs.
Bailiffs play an important role in our community. Their main purpose is to collect debt, either by court order on behalf of a creditor or on behalf of the government. Their daily activities involve visiting people at their workplace or home. The work includes actioning Warrants to Seize property (fines and civil), Civil Warrants to Arrest, evictions and serving Family Court documents.
Bailiffs generally work on their own, visiting people and private property or places of work they are unfamiliar with, and often in highly emotive situations. This can present a health and safety risk to the Bailiff and also makes investigating complaints difficult due to the isolated nature of the work.
The introduction of BWCs is part of wider Ministry work to improve health and safety for Bailiffs. Several changes have already been implemented, including improvements to Bailiff Personal Protective Equipment and new health and safety training.
The use of BWCs will improve transparency and accountability. The BWC footage will provide an objective record of a visit and ensure any complaints can be fully investigated.
A Bailiff will activate their BWC when they visit a person, beginning recording before they approach a property and stopping when they leave.
Bailiffs will advise each person they visit that the BWC is operating. The camera has a front-facing screen, so the person they are visiting can see what is being recorded.
BWC footage will be held securely within Ministry systems, and access to it will be restricted. Requests for BWC footage will be managed under the Privacy Act 2020 and Official Information Act 1982. The footage will be deleted after 90 days unless the Ministry determines there is a reason to keep it (for example, a complaint investigation or health and safety incident).
For more details, see Bailiff Body-Worn Cameras.
This page was last updated: