Karachi police to wear body cameras as a step to improve their accountability.

Byline: Imran Ayub

KARACHI -- Amid growing complaints of abuse of power, ill-practices and corruption in the police, the authorities are set to launch a surveillance project to monitor activities of officers on patrolling duties, snap-checking and those deployed at checkpoints to improve accountability.

According to officials, the proposal to acquire the first consignment of modern cameras had made some progress and the police authorities were in final talks with the National Radio TeleAcommunication Corporation (NRTC) - the high tech industry engaged in manufacturing of telecommunication equipment in Pakistan. They said that once the deal was finalised, a set of 100 cameras was likely to arrive for the city police within a few weeks to kickstart the first phase of the project.

'Bearable body-worn cameras are often utilised by the law enforcement agencies in several countries to record their interaction with public or gather video evidence at crime scenes,' said a source. 'It has been suggested to increase both officer and civilian accountability,' he added.

A set of 100 cameras is likely to arrive for the city police within a few weeks to implement the first phase of the project

'We also witness that sometimes accidental events may have an effect on memory so the cameras also allow video playback in the case of memory loss. A portable network device would also be provided with the camera to ensure network connectivity all the time,' the source said.

He said being an organisation under the Ministry of Defence Production, the NRTC was fully capable to meet the requirement and...