Bring body-camera laws

COMMISSIONER of Police Gary Griffith’s assurance last Saturday that 1,500 body cameras could soon be available for use by frontline police officers is an important development in this country’s law-enforcement operations.

However, unless these cameras are put to good use and subject to strict regulation, they will bring little benefit.

We have been hearing about body cameras for a while now. In 2012, Gillian Lucky, then the director of the Police Complaints Authority, called for them to be used, given the perennial problem of getting the truth in relation to confrontations between the police and civilians.

In 2013, the police made a commitment to use cameras, but things have moved at a snail’s pace since. In 2017, there was a six-month trial of 60 cameras. In 2018, emergency patrols were allocated 100. In 2019, a dozen were given to highway cops. According to figures given by Mr Griffith last week, about 180 body cameras are currently in use, and some police vehicles are equipped with dashcams.

The tepid implementation of this measure contrasts sharply with the increasing need for it.

In 2015, there were 17 reports of police-involved killings. By last year, the figure had risen to 55. In almost every case, the same narrative unfolds: police say the victims were in fact assailants; community members, neighbours and relatives of those killed claim the unjustified use of force.

What makes the failure to introduce body cameras particularly baffling is the fact that they are as much about protecting officers as members of the public.

Though members of the public support this measure, they are also rightly sceptical of the fact that even the best technology can be abused.

Mr Griffith assures standard operating procedures are in place or are soon to be implemented. Nevertheless, there is an evident need for stronger laws and offences to penalise tampering with cameras and footage.

In countries all over the world, lawmakers have called for measures making it mandatory for cameras to be on at all times and to forbid their deliberate disabling. In one US state, body-camera footage is also regarded as a public record and must be released 45 days after an incident.

At the very least, cameras should be worn by all officers involved in an operation and should remain switched on for the duration of their engagement.

Without such strong measures here, what is to stop an officer from simply switching off a camera when the moment comes?