As part of our commitment to continually improve the integrity of thoroughbred racing in Victoria, Body Worn Cameras (BWC) were commissioned for use by Racing Victoria integrity team members on 7 October 2021.
The use of BWC by RV’s Stewards, Equine Welfare Officers and Compliance Assurance Team members will occur when they are exercising their powers under the Rues of Racing. This will include, but not limited to;
*this excludes RV inquiry rooms and Stewards’ rooms on raceday which will remain audio recordings only
It is a commonly used tool by regulatory and policing organisations and the introduction of BWC in thoroughbred racing is to create to create greater accountability and transparency throughout the industry.
The BWC is a portable camera worn on a person’s clothes and used to capture audio and video recordings of interactions between RV employees and licensed or registered persons. This includes the real time capture of video and audio evidence.
RV commenced the roll out of Body Worn Cameras from 7 October 2021. RV Stewards, Equine Welfare Officers and Compliance Assurance Team members will use body worn cameras when gathering evidence, interviewing a licensed or registered person or when attending a licensed property to conduct an equine welfare visit or stable inspection.
Only authorised RV employees will have access to the footage. All access to Body Worn Camera footage is monitored, tracked and stored in a secure, cloud-based system.
Body worn cameras are an overt camera and will be clearly visible to the participant. Blinking red lights on the front of the camera will be visible when it is recording.
Yes, footage captured by an approved RV employee exercising their powers under the Rules of Racing can be used as evidence in disciplinary matters.
More Frequently Asked Questions may be added to this page over time as RV implements the use of BWC.
If you have any questions on the use of the BWC, please email information@racingvictoria.net.au.