After traffic police, law & order personnel to be provided body-worn cameras

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: In a bid to ensure transparency in the police department and to strengthen people-friendly policing, the City police department has decided to provide body cameras to the police inspectors of the law and order department here. Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda has decided to provide proper training to around 111 police inspectors of the law and order department in the city and distribute body cameras to them next week, sources from the police told News Trail.

Mandatory guidelines for the policemen on wearing cameras: Once provided, it will be mandatory for the policemen to wear the body-worn cameras while on duty in public areas regardless of their shifts. However, it will not be mandatory while arresting an accused and taking their statement in criminal cases, sources said. A senior police officer told News Trail that the Police Commissioner is preparing a guideline that includes many aspects.

The Police Chief believes that the initiatives will improve the behaviour of policemen as well as keeping corruption in check. Police Commissioner B Dayanand said that steps will be taken to provide more cameras in a phased manner in the coming days.

It may be recalled that body worn cameras were given to the traffic policemen a few months ago to avoid unnecessary verbal conflicts between the motorists and the police. Recently, around 482 such cameras were provided to 242 Hoysala police personnel after several instances where people had alleged misbehaviour by a few policemen in the city.