Police in Spain’s Marbella to wear live-streaming bodycams as ‘Costa del Crime’ image returns

MARBELLA’S local police department has launched a pilot project for body cameras capable of transmitting images in real time to the force’s Command and Control Center.

Mayor Angeles Munoz explained that officers will wear a total of ten devices for a three-month period, with a battery life of up to eight hours. 

This emphasises the municipality’s commitment to ‘strengthening officer safety and the force’s operational effectiveness with the incorporation of the latest technologies’. 

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The move comes amid a wave of violence, possibly linked to drug cartels fighting a war in the streets of the Costa del Sol. 

“Our commitment is to allocate budgets annually to provide our police officers with the best resources,” stated the mayor, who indicated that this new service is added to the fixed video surveillance network deployed throughout the municipality, which already includes more than 360 cameras.

The mayor, who reported that the first tests were carried out during the Semana Santa, emphasised the importance of integrating the images ‘into our central control system, providing invaluable evidence and complete knowledge of the actions being carried out’.

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The body cameras allow for real-time images of interventions such as checkpoints, accidents, or preventive patrols in high-traffic areas. 

Lastly, the mayor announced that he goal is to also provide this service to the Fire Department and Guardia Civil, ‘thus promoting greater coordination and efficiency in managing emergencies’.