PDRM To Adopt Body Cameras And CCTVs At Lockups To Prevent Corruption And Abuse
Greater transparency will come to Malaysia's law enforcement soon with these technological upgrades.
By Yap Wan Xiang — 20 Sep 2019, 03:04 PM
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced yesterday, 19 September, that the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) will be equipped with body cameras
Body cameras will be worn by police and Customs and Immigration personnel.
Dr Mahathir said the move is to prevent corruption and abuse of power committed by the enforcement officers, reported New Straits Times.
"The country is experiencing revenue leakages of between RM3 billion and RM5 billion at the nation's entry points yearly, due to integrity problems of officers and a lack in state-of-the-art technology," said the premier.
"We had agreed with suggestions to improve things, including using technology in the Customs Department operations by setting up a one-stop control centre, monitoring using closed-circuit television (CCTV) and adding more scanners with Artificial Intelligence technology as well as operation aid equipment," he added.
Dr Mahathir said the government has the budget for the upgrade and priority will be given to body cameras and CCTVs.
More CCTVs will be installed at locations such as lockups so that transparency can be achieved, and prevent misconduct resulting in custodial deaths
Dr Mahathir said both body cameras and CCTVs can also be used as alibis to address accusations thrown at the police department.
In response, Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador thanked Dr Mahathir for green-lighting the proposal and hoped more equipment upgrades will follow
Abdul Hamid expressed his wish for the upgrades to materialise as soon as possible, while also requested more equipment for the police force, reported Bernama.
"We also hope more equipment can be provided. For example, equipment such as Taser guns are also needed to arrest mentally unsound people or those running amok as it would make the job easier," the top cop told reporters yesterday.
