Falmouth Police will introduce body worn video cameras this year that they say will help to fight crime.

The force shared a post on social media saying: "Later this year Falmouth officers will be issued with body worn cameras.

"This will greatly help us in gathering evidence when tackling crime and dealing with ASB.

"It will assist officers in swiftly bringing offenders to justice."

A spokesperson from Devon and Cornwall Police said: "BWV is already delivering clear benefits to our forces and to the victims of crime in terms of evidential value, through its effectiveness in delivering earlier guilty pleas and in speeding up the criminal justice process.

"Use of the cameras also offer an additional layer of protection for officers and staff by acting as a deterrent to the increasing levels of assaults they experience."

They went on to say: "The technology also offers greater transparency for those in front of the camera as well as behind it.

"Through the use of BWV, the public can feel reassured during their interactions with the police whilst allowing us to demonstrate our professionalism in the many challenging and contentious interactions faced by police officers and staff."

Devon and Cornwall Police were the first force in the country to introduce the technology, and first used the cameras as early as 2007.

There are now over 300 BWV cameras deployed across forces in Devon & Cornwall Police and Dorset Police after a decision was made in May 2017 to provide BWV cameras to 270 firearms officers working across the alliance between the two forces.

The two forces are planning to expand the use of the cameras over the next few years, with the addition of several hundred cameras over the summer, growing to more than 2,800 cameras in total across the two units by July 2019.

During the 2016/17 financial year Devon and Cornwall Police spent £468,440 on BWV camera equipment, including 160 cameras across all of their forces, with 38 of these cameras in Plymouth.

As of 2016, Cornwall council had 4 BWV cameras being used by the anti-social activity team, with footage gathered by the team being stored on hard drives for 28 days before it is deleted if no enquiries are made.