Police under close scrunity

By JACKLYN SIRIAS
POLICE behaviour is under close scrutiny now, Commissioner Gari Baki says.
One way to deal with it would be to have closed circuit video dashboard cameras installed in police vehicles operating in the city, he said.
“They will be installed in police vehicles to keep accountability of officers’ performances,” Baki said.
He said they would be doing a trial soon on officers’ vehicles to see if the idea was reliable.
“The idea is basically for more accountability, it is not intended to divulge on privacy or anything,” Baki said.
He said the cameras would give more accountability of what police officers were doing.
“When they are driving a police vehicle, the camera will be monitoring and tracking them on what they are doing, their job behaviour and the kind of languages used,” Baki said.
He said this would also be a way to curb police brutality issues in the department.
Deputy Commissioner, operations, Jim Andrews said the cameras would be used at crime scenes to monitor officers’ performances and to track vehicle operations in the city.
He said the project was part of the modernisation programme that came under the modernisation funding.
“We have to catch up with the rest of the police forces around the world in terms of using technology in curbing crimes,” Andrews said.
“We want to modernise the police force so we need to use hi-tech equipment to upgrade our security systems”
“The commissioner has given approval to put on a unit heavily involved in patrols,  probably the public safety unit, monitor where ever police vehicles go when on duty. It is a trial in NCD.  If this is good, we will go out to Lae, Hagen and Kokopo,” Andrews said.
He said that camera equipment would be used during major events in the country like next year’s general election, the Apec meeting in 2018 and others if the trial is successful.
“The main control centre of this project will be at the Konedobu police headquarters and Boroko operation centre,” Andrews said.
Meanwhile, a local engineering company – Geemicks Electrical and Civil Engineering Limited – will be installing yhe cameras.
Its managing director, Garry Logo, said they would start the installation as soon as the equipment was brought from Australia.