Fast Company: “Once, body cameras were attached only to cops, part of an effort to produce more evidence, de-escalate tense situations, and reduce force and abuse. The jury is still out on how effective they are, but the technology is spreading fast, and not just within policing. Increasingly, other sectors have adopted the cameras, and nowadays you might spot bus drivers, paramedics, sanitation workers, and even hospital and retail employees sporting the cameras. The idea is mostly twofold: to enforce accountability on its wearer’s part, and to discourage the on-the-job abuse that’s been surging against frontline workers even before the pandemic began. At least that’s how Axon, the maker of Taser weapons and police equipment, is pitching its new line of body cameras, designed especially for employees in retail and healthcare. The new device, which is slimmer than the company’s black police cameras and comes in a range of bright colors, “marks a new chapter in body-worn cameras, built to address the workplace violence affecting frontline workers,” says Axon CEO and founder Rick Smith. Body cams of all kinds have begun to appear on hospital and in-store workers in the U.S., following roll-outs in Australia and the U.K., including at the National Health Service and retail giant Tesco. Since 2020, Axon says its cameras have been trialed by “some of the largest healthcare networks and global retailers,” including Georgia-based Piedmont Healthcare, by Christus, a Catholic nonprofit system in Texas, and by Portland-based Legacy Health. Most workers wearing its cameras are security personnel, but trials are underway with non-security healthcare staff and in-store retail associates, the company says…”