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Body worn video for marshalls

Considering Driver Wood is the only site I've been to where an argument between players has come to throwing punches, I'd say that it is unfortunately warranted. Albeit not for defending staff actions, but more so for potential footage of evidence or to back up the site banning a player. 

 
I don't see there being any real negative to having this. It protects staff and the players. So if a site feels like it's useful then so be it. I can see it being more useful for sites which cater for larger number of players for things such as recognition and for when things escalate on those larger sites where the next Marshall might be a 5 minute walk away. 

In my own experience players do seem to be getting more frustrated if not aggressive in the last few years.  Especially after covid. 

Having more protection is never a bad thing. 

 
That still puts them in shaky grounds for it, especially if they've not got a very clear and defined (and bulletproof) data retention policy on them - CCTV has very specific rules to it, and bodycams are not going to be in scope.

Edit: Been and checked. 

If an airsoft site is doing any of these:

  1. Using the body cams as CCTV to monitor members of the public or to identify individuals.
  2. Using the body cams as CCTV to guard against disorder or to protect individuals from assault, including the use of to try to prevent crime from happening or to provide information about them later.



Anyone wearing one would need to hold an SIA Public Space Surveillance license. I'll take a stab in the dark, that nobody on their team has that.
I'm unsure why you would think that. 

I hold an SIA licence, but it's not required to wear a body cam.

You'd only need a licence if you weren't working for the Airsoft place and then only if you were watching the footage.

Sia licences are to regulate the security industry, if you are working for the place that has the CCTV you don't need a licence. Otherwise someone in a school or shop would need an SIA licence.

All you'd need to do to comply with data protection is have a policy and stick to it. Main thing being keep the video for the least amount of time you need to.

 
Anyone wearing one would need to hold an SIA Public Space Surveillance license. I'll take a stab in the dark, that nobody on their team has that.
Only if they're working for another company contracted to provide security etc, staff directly working "in house" don't. The only exceptions to this are door supervision in licenced premises or vehicle imobilisation (NI only)

 
Only if they're working for another company contracted to provide security etc, staff directly working "in house" don't. The only exceptions to this are door supervision in licenced premises or vehicle imobilisation (NI only)
Most Airsoft marshals aren't working for anyone. They are generally volunteers who get reimbursed travel expenses. The whole data security and employee issues would make running body cams legitimately and nightmare.

 
Most Airsoft marshals aren't working for anyone. They are generally volunteers who get reimbursed travel expenses. The whole data security and employee issues would make running body cams legitimately and nightmare.
Note that volunteers are working, and on a legal basis many volunteers and the organisations they volunteer for have unwittingly entered into an employment contract

Though it may be common for airsoft marshals to be unpaid volunteers this is a poor model for the airsoft industry, it’s more of the norm in paintball for Marshall’s and other staff to be employees

(In a number of activities I do and have volunteered, I am handled as staff, though unpaid, and I am insured for their liability to me and for their business liability of anything I do ‘in my duties’

None of this changes GDPR nor SIA status 

Driver Wood require a policy for data collected already (data collected for ticket sales, waivers etc) and cameras add to the data handled

 
Most Airsoft marshals aren't working for anyone. They are generally volunteers who get reimbursed travel expenses. The whole data security and employee issues would make running body cams legitimately and nightmare.
Volunteers also don't need a licence, although I'm not sure if being reimbursed for travel expenses could be counted as payment. That would be for the courts to decide if it ever comes to that (and if it did the site would probably have bigger problems to worry about)

It could also be argued that marshals are there in more of a stewarding role than security so again wouldn't need to be licensed.

More info on what you do and don't need a SIA licence for can be found here

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/find-out-if-you-need-an-sia-licence#when-you-do-not-need-an-sia-licence

Its not so much the cameras being worn which could be a legal minefield, more how the images are used

Has anyone asked Driver Wood why they've decided to do this?

 
I'm unsure why you would think that. 

I hold an SIA licence, but it's not required to wear a body cam.

You'd only need a licence if you weren't working for the Airsoft place and then only if you were watching the footage.

Sia licences are to regulate the security industry, if you are working for the place that has the CCTV you don't need a licence. Otherwise someone in a school or shop would need an SIA licence.

All you'd need to do to comply with data protection is have a policy and stick to it. Main thing being keep the video for the least amount of time you need to.


Because by having the CCTV on your person you are in effect operating it, rather than having it controlled by a third party with the appropriate license.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-you-need-an-sia-licence-to-use-a-bodycam

 
You can have cameras, body worn or otherwise with a simple policy. It's not a nightmare at all.

If you contract in security they need to be licensed but otherwise you dont

Because by having the CCTV on your person you are in effect operating it, rather than having it controlled by a third party with the appropriate license.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-you-need-an-sia-licence-to-use-a-bodycam
Without arguing this point, if it's in house it's also irrelevant.

 


It was a call back to a thread that went very south over the weekend.

When i went to Driver Wood a while back though, it didn't strike me as a place that needed bodycams - but then another member witnessed an incident, so i might have been wrong.

 
Because by having the CCTV on your person you are in effect operating it, rather than having it controlled by a third party with the appropriate license.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-you-need-an-sia-licence-to-use-a-bodycam
Again only if you're a third party contractor, those working directly for the site don't need to be licensed. According to the link the only person who might need to be licensed is the owner/director and that would depend on the reasons the cameras are worn

 
Has anyone asked Driver Wood why they've decided to do this?
Yes on Facebook it was asked, it didn't get answered. As I said, everyone started arguing about GDPR and radio frequencies.

However it appears the post about the Tesco cosplay has been deleted off of their feed

 
choose-internet-lawyer.jpg


Every damn time...

 
Yes on Facebook it was asked, it didn't get answered. As I said, everyone started arguing about GDPR and radio frequencies.

However it appears the post about the Tesco cosplay has been deleted off of their feed
That doesn't surprise me. From the short time I was in the group I got the distinct impression that anything other than having your tongue up the owner's arse wasn't acceptable

 
That doesn't surprise me. From the short time I was in the group I got the distinct impression that anything other than having your tongue up the owner's arse wasn't acceptable
I honestly thought it had a good reputation (the site), this thread seems to be telling me otherwise. 

 
When I played there I thought it was pretty decent.... Only issue was a player had come up from two days at NAF and was whining about being shot at.  Vaguely remember posting  about it here at the time - it was rather funny.

Site was good and facilities up there too.

 
It was the attitude of the owner and staff I didn't like. After arriving slightly late due to the trains I still had a face mask round my neck (it was just after covid and taxis weren't taking passengers without one) only for said owner to go into a rant about how covid was killing his business and was a load of fuss over nothing. When he finally finished and I asked for clarification of pyro rules I was told not to bother as nobody takes them. Next I had to ask several times for someone to chrono my guns, only to be told they'd be there in a couple of minutes but they never bothered. In the end I thought fuck it and joined the next game as I knew the guns were all under site limits and I'm not paying money to stand in the safezone waiting for them to finish chatting. Then later after a game I had a marshal ask why I don't have a barrel sock. When I said this was the first I'd heard about needing one I got a grumpy reply of "well it's on the Facebook page"

These along with a few other things gave me the impression they don't care and see customers as nothing but an inconvenience.

I can't really say too much about the playing area as it was a night game so only one small part was used but I do agree that the facilities in the safezone were very good compared to some places I've been 

 
In the interest of pure balance I've also been and had no issues, none major enough to not want to return; but that was 1 person on 1 day of course.  Their barrel sock rule is obviously out of the norm but the safe zone is quite possibly the nicest overall of any airsoft venue in the UK (not that I've been to every one but it's so far ahead of anything else that it's a tough one to beat).  Lots of cool stuff in the game zone too and pretty big.

 
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