DGP Loknath Behera fitting an on-body camera on a female police officer to mark the inauguration of the hi-tech project at the Kerala Police Headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram Friday.Thiruvananthapuram: In a welcome move to curb frictions between police personnel and general public while interacting with each other, the Kerala Police have procured body-worn cameras that will provide a neutral view in the event of a controversy.
These cameras, to be attached to the uniforms of police officers, will be able to capture the interaction of police officers and others, including offenders.
The use of GPS-enabled cameras to put both police and the general public under a monitoring mechanism is expected to bring transparency and accountability to policing and change people’s behavior.
Apart from making patrolling and traffic management more effective, the footage captured on the camera can also be used for advanced criminal investigation.
In the first phase, body-worn cameras have been introduced among police personnel at Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam districts. The project will be extended to all the other districts soon, said DGP Loknath Behera.
Key features
The body-worn cameras are equipped with live streaming facilities.
The recorded footage can be sent to the Police Control Room or any other center with the help of a 4G sim-controlled system.
Top officials will be able to watch the footage on their mobile phone or smart televisions and give the necessary instructions to their subordinates.
The push-to-talk facility in the camera will help officials use it as wireless sets for internal communication.
Officials equipped with cameras attached to a network will be able to communicate with each other.
Each camera with 64 GB inbuilt memory has video/audio recording facility.
The recorded footage will be downloaded onto the computer at the control room every day and stored for future reference.
As many as fifty cameras manufactured by the public sector enterprise Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd have been procured so far. Traffic cops and local police will be given the camera in the first phase.
