Harbour staff equipped with body cams and drones after rise in abuse

Dale Spridgeon, Local Democracy Reporter

Body-worn cameras and drones are among the technologies being used to keep harbour staff and visitors safe on the Gwynedd coast.

Cameras have been worn by harbour staff in Barmouth following incidents of abusive behaviour, with 2024 described as a “particularly bad year”.

Officers are now required to wear the equipment to provide protection and to record any incidents, with the details discussed at a meeting of Barmouth Harbour Consultative Committee, on Tuesday, October 21.

Recording 

Senior Harbour Master Daniel Cartwright described the use of the personal protection equipment whilst giving an update on harbour management matters at the meeting.

“Staff, not only in the harbour, but on the beaches, unfortunately do receive abusive behaviour, sometimes,” he said.

“We have implemented, in the last couple of years, the need to wear body-worn cameras. As you are walking around the harbours, you will see staff with their cameras on.

“They are not always recording but they are able to press a button when they need to which gives the previous 30 seconds of time.

“They have become a vital part of our PPE and have reduced the amount of abusive behaviour we have received.

“It was a particularly bad year in 2024, we had quite a number of incidents across the beaches and harbours, however in 2025, with the implementation of the cameras, it has reduced. They help calm situations down quite quickly, which is fantastic.

“We have staff all along the coast, the last thing we want is for them to receive abusive behaviour.

“There had been customers going across, from the  Fairbourne area that had been particularly unkind not only to staff but to other people in the harbour.

“So, having a record on camera is ideal. We will continue to use the cameras and continue to monitor them, and note any incidences that come in.

“If we do have any incidences of abusive behaviour or regarding maritime vessels, it’s  recorded on our own data bases or passed onto the relevant authorities”.

Warnings 

Committee chair, Cllr Eryl Jones Williams, asked if they had led to any prosecutions or warnings.

Mr Cartwright said the cameras, and CCTV, a new addition around the harbour, had been used to help the police.

“We have been requested by North Wales Police on a number of occasions, throughout the harbours, for assistance with investigations,  whether we have any evidence on our footage, with footage being given to them,” he said.

The meeting also heard the use of drones had  been a useful tool, particularly in locating lost children.

There are four drones at the service’s disposal with a fifth planned. The remote controlled aerial equipment is used to take photographs and video footage.

Barmouth harbour master Kane Triggs, said: “The drone we have in Barmouth is a DJi Mini 4 pro – it is 249 grams it is only small but incredibly capable.

“It’s been used lots this year, especially on spring tides to monitor the change in the navigable channel, mooring locations, the state of the bridge, whether there is any debris around the timber sections and the position of the buoys”.

Busy 

Mr Triggs described its use at busy times during the summer.

“We are an incredibly busy place here in Barmouth, the beach is incredibly popular, the harbour the same,” he said.

“We use the drone during events to take photos, and it allows us to give feedback  on how they have been set up.

“We have used it to locate missing children lost in the sand dunes. It is really useful when looking for a bright colour,  it’s  easy to pick out using the photo on the remote control, to see what you are looking for”.

Maritime service manager Bryn Pritchard Jones said “We have four drones in the service at the moment, we are hoping to get another in the New Year for the beaches.

“We have also used them in cases of pollution, if a vessel has sank or there has been an oil spill, we can get an aerial image to see if the pollution has spread.

“The drones are extremely useful and quite reasonably priced, and they help us mitigate risk.

“We can examine buoys fromt the balcony of Barmouth Harbour, reducing the risk in inclement weather, saving someone going out on the boat.

“They are an asset that has paid dividends.”