KUCHING: Sarawak Community Policing Association (SCPA) has suggested that the federal government makes body cameras compulsory for all law enforcement officers such as the police, immigration, customs and security guards, especially those guarding the borders in the state.
Its chairman Datuk Dr John Lau Pang Heng said body cameras would not only benefit the law enforcement officers but also record incidents when the officers were in contact with citizens.
“The recordings from body cameras could serve as evidence later on,” he told New Sarawak Tribune in a statement on Sunday.
Citing a journal of Criminal Justice and Behaviour published by Cambridge University in Sept 2016, Lau said after the use of body cameras, complaints against police officers by citizens in United Kingdom (UK) and United States (USA) decreased substantially.
“The study followed seven police departments across the US and the UK, and tracked the number of complaints filed against about 2,000 officers in the year before they began wearing body cameras and then compared them to the number to the complaints filed in the year after.
“In all, the complaints dropped from 1,539 in the year before to just 11 for all seven departments in the year after — a dramatic reduction of 93 percent,” he said. Lau said of the seven departments studied, one saw a 100 percent decrease in the number of complaints filed. The other six departments saw a drop of 98 percent, 94 percent, 94 percent, 88 percent, 88 percent and 44 percent.
“The researchers argue that all parties benefit when officers initiate each interaction by noting they are wearing body cameras. Simply acknowledging the devices has a deterrent effect.
“It primed both parties that civilised manners were required and served as a nudge to enhance the participants’ awareness of being observed,” he said.
Lau said before implementing the use of body cameras, the costs involved should be considered as well.
“A body camera may cost RM700 to RM1600. Say there are 100,000 enforcement officers involved in law enforcement duties in Malaysia. The total costs of the body cameras then are between RM 70 million and RM160 million excluding maintenance costs.
“Therefore, if the federal government decides to implement the body cameras, it should consider areas of top priority,” he said.
Lau also pointed out that the body cameras were useless if the cameras were defective.
He added that based on a survey conducted by SCPA in 2019, 80.9 percent of those interviewed in the state were very satisfied and happy with police services in the country.
“This is the second highest satisfaction after Penang where 81.3 percent of those interviewed were very satisfied and happy. Perhaps, body cameras can be used by police, immigration and customs personnel on duty at the borders,” he said.
