German railway operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) has proposed that flight attendants wear body cameras, German news agency DPA reported on March 24, citing a DB representative.
According to a DB spokeswoman, the offer takes immediate effect. Body cameras may be used voluntarily, at your own discretion. To receive them you only need to register.
The head of the regional rail transportation department, Evelyn Pally, said the idea for body cameras came to them because of the increasing number of attacks on flight attendants. In 2023, there were 1,328 attacks on transport employees on local lines.
Testing has shown that body cameras have an impact. “very strong de-escalation” effect and “in this way they protect against physical attacks”Pala explained. Employees wearing body cameras were not physically attacked.
Initially, it is planned to expand the offer of use of body cameras to 5,000 employees who work on local lines. According to Palla, employees are the backbone of rail transport and must be protected from attacks. “Every attack on our employees is one too many.”Pala concluded.
Let us remember that Deutsche Bahn’s local service fleet includes 4.5 thousand regional and commuter trains. They make 22,000 trips daily and transport around 4.7 million passengers a day.
It should be noted that, according to DB data, the number of attacks on railway employees increased in 2022 compared to 2021 by 21% and reached 3,138 cases. About 30% of them were related to conflicts over measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus, especially over mask-wearing requirements on trains.
Statistics on the number of attacks on railway employees for 2023 have not yet been published. According to German media, between the beginning of 2023 and August 2023, 954 attacks on railway employees were documented.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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