Introduction of bodycam tech improves equipment tracking surveillance to catch unlawful abusers.
London, UK , February 2023 – Bakers Basco, the membership scheme set up by Allied Bakeries, Fine Lady Bakeries, Frank Roberts & Sons, Hovis, and Warburtons to manage an industry-wide bakery equipment solution, has ramped up its tech capabilities with body-worn video cameras to improve its equipment tracking surveillance to catch unlawful abusers.
This marks a major step forward for the company’s national investigations team and is part of a wider training program and initiative across the team to tighten up the processes involved with investigations around stolen equipment that can sometimes end up in court.
The Partner MK4 bodycam tech offers highly customizable solution
All of the investigation staff has been trained in The Partner MK4 – a complete body-worn video system that offers a highly customizable solution for capturing footage that can be easily transferred to the Police or relevant authorities, should it come to that.
With high-quality recording options and an extra-large battery allowing up to 15 hours of recording, all footage gathered is GDPR-compliant, fully encrypted, and automatically uploaded to The Partner MK4 DEMS (Digital Evidence Management Software). Within this, users can view and manage the video archive, which also has an audit log to record who has viewed, exported, or deleted footage and when.
The news comes just nine months after Bakers Basco appointed ex-Lincolnshire Police officer Stacey Brown to head up the investigations team and overhaul its strategic efforts.
In conjunction with this, all staff has undergone a robust training program covering core basics, evidence-gathering techniques, conflict management and prevention of violence within the workplace as part of an all-encompassing strategic effort to improve the processes behind recovering missing or stolen bread baskets and dollies.
“Since joining Bakers Basco nine months ago, it has been my mission to ensure our investigations team is trained with the right knowledge and skillset to think differently about how we run investigations,” said Stacey Brown, national investigations manager, Bakers Basco. “Technology plays a key role in that, and this new bodycam technology will significantly improve our evidence gathering capabilities when dealing with those who are stealing or unlawfully using equipment owned by Bakers Basco and our members.”
Over the past few years, Bakers Basco has significantly stepped up its investment in technology by introducing GPS tracking devices across its bakery equipment pool to track and monitor the daily movements of its equipment more closely.
Evidence gathered through the use of GPS-equipped products, working in tandem with the specialist tactical investigations team, has been instrumental in securing judgment in Bakers Basco’s favor in a number of court cases against third parties using it without permission. It has also significantly reduced losses and improved recovery levels to find and reclaim missing equipment, which has been diverted out of the supply chain.
About Bakers Basco
Bakers Basco was set up in 2006 by five of the UK’s leading plant bakers, including Allied Bakeries, Fine Lady Bakeries, Frank Roberts & Sons, Hovis, and Warburtons – representing more than 55% of the bakery market in the UK – to buy, manage and police the use of a standard basket for the delivery of bread to retailers and wholesalers.
The company currently manages an equipment pool of approximately five million sturdy, reusable Omega Baskets and 500,000 dollies, which are part of the ‘circular economy’ – designed to last many years, with each piece of kit recycled potentially 400 times and the resulting raw plastic used to make more baskets before it reaches the end of its useful life. Find out more at http://bakersbasco.com/.