The DMP has launched a special initiative which would see its officials carry small wearable GoPro cameras on their persons from now on, in an attempt to ensure better transparency and accountability.
“The camera will also help police officials to coordinate better with the common people of the country,” said Benazir Ahmed, the outgoing commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), while inaugurating the body camera initiative at the capital’s Shahbagh intersection yesterday.
The cameras would be able to capture a first-person view from the police officials’ perspective. It would also record law enforcers’ conversations which the officials would not be able to delete themselves, said Benazir.
“It is a 16 megapixel high-resolution camera that could record the audio and video for eight hours and it could be monitored from the command centre. It is small in size and for this reason it can be worn on head or on duty official’s body,” said Benazir.
The outgoing DMP commissioner further said that the service has initially been launched with only 15 cameras for the DMP traffic department, while 400 more cameras would soon be provided to the crime division and police stations.
DMP sources said each of the GoPro camera costs Tk20,000 and is able to record even during rain. If there is not enough light available to record video, the camera would still continue to record audio clips.
Asked about the service, Mosleh Uddin Ahmed, joint commissioner of DMP (traffic), told the Dhaka Tribune that during the initial stage 15 body cameras have been distributed to four traffic departments of the capital and sergeants would remain on duty with the cameras while discharging duty during the New Year’s Eve.