Some police officers in Pasig City have started to take to their beats with so-called body cams, or portable video cameras strapped to the chests.
This development is intended to enhance transparency in police operation and personal safety of both the law enforcers and their clients, especially so that it looks like the Philippine National Police (PNP) will soon take up the frontline job of executing the anti-drugs campaign of the Duterte Administration.
On Thursday morning, a team of police officers fanned out at Orambo Drive, to take up position checking out the paperwork of motorcycles cruising along.
Their body cameras, capable of recording audio and with a 4-hour video capture endurance offering clear face recognition up to 15 meters away, were issued by the Pasig City government.
The data can be uploaded at Pasig City police headquarters. Plus, the firmwired data includes tamper-proof time stamping in order to forestall any attempt to edit of manipulate the recorded data.
Body cams have lately emerged as the preferred solution to instances of alleged police tampering of closed-circuit surveillance videos in recent controversial drug busts that have resulted in the death of suspects in anti-drug operations.
