The wardens, along with other Selwyn District Council staff out in the field, have been wearing the cameras for the last month and have already caught two incidents on video.
In one case a parking warden was threatened while issuing tickets.
The second was a park and reserves officer who was threatened.
Both incidents were referred to police.
“The initiative is seen as improving personal safety for staff operating in the field and to encourage good behaviour from members of the public that our people are going to be dealing with.”
The council has one dedicated person who responds to parking complaints, along with six others in its compliance team. The district council spent about $20,000 on 15 body cameras for staff.
Parking enforcement across the district has been controversial since the council increased its focus on detecting and fining drivers who parked illegally.
In the year to July, about $120,000 in fines had been issued across the district.
The use of bodycams in New Zealand has been on the increase with some supermarkets deciding to deploy the technology in response to a rise in verbal threats being made towards staff.
Police have yet to adopt bodycams for officers but are considering it.
Former police officer and Rolleston Ward councillor Phil Dean said the council’s move to protect staff was a sign of the times.
"The bodycam gives them a good way of improving their safety but also if there are any complaints later then we have the footage,” he said.
Dean hoped the introduction of cameras would also improve the public's attitude toward council staff.
Stack said the council's front-facing staff had also reported an increase in angry customers asking about rate rises and other issues.
"Our customer service people get some angry customers at times and we’ve got to manage that as best we can.”
Council head of people Lisa Fawcett said it is also investigating the root causes of poor customer behaviour.
"Often these incidents are preceded by several other interactions with council processes.
"We have worked with cross-functional teams to develop our in-house caring customer interactions programme, the first workshop being scheduled in early September with the resource consents team."
Along with the bodycams, the council is developing locations of interest maps, which staff will check before heading into the field.
The initiative is designed to help identify locations where more vigilance is required when staff are visiting sites to ensure the safety of council staff.
