KUALA LUMPUR: Police are in the midst of drawing up guidelines for the use of body-worn-cameras (BWCs) by its personnel.
Experts from the Federal police's Integrity and Standards Compliance Department (JIPS), Management Department and legal division will iron out the do's and don'ts while using BWCs in the field.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said they expected to finalise the standard operating procedure by the end of this year.
"Once the SOP is in place, every personnel wearing the cameras must follow it strictly or face disciplinary action.
"Disciplinary action will definitely be taken on those who turn off the cameras during official duty," he told the New Straits Times.
This, he said, was not only to prevent police brutality, but also to defend police personnel from baseless allegations of excessive behaviour.
Razarudin explained that while it would be made compulsory for personnel to wear the camera when on duty, there were certain circumstances where they would be permitted to turn it off.
"They will be granted permission to turn off these cameras when they need to go to the toilet.
"That said, they must first inform their respective commanding officer and seek approval from their control centres."
On the usage of the BWCs, Razarudin said priority would be given to motorcycle patrol units, patrol car units, Traffic Enforcement and Investigation Department personnel, as well as those out on crime prevention rounds.
"Those from other departments will also be equipped with BWCs during selected official duties, such as the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Narcotic Crime Investigation Department (NCID) and JIPS.
"Currently, we have 1,376 cameras in use to test and evaluate their effectiveness within the Klang Valley.
"On June 19, we began rolling out these BWCs in the Dang Wangi police district, namely the Dang Wangi, Chow Kit, Tun H.S. Lee and Jalan Bandar traffic police stations."
He said in Selangor, the Kapar, Bandar Baru Klang and North Klang Traffic stations under the North Klang police district were also involved in tests between Aug 12 and 20.
He said the police would start rolling out these cameras in other states soon, beginning with Johor, Melaka and Negri Sembilan.
"We will then move on to the northern region, followed by the east coast," he said, adding that they expected a full rollout by March next year.
It was reported in May that the Home Ministry had signed a RM28 million contract to acquire BWCs for the police.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail had said the first delivery of BWCs would be made the following month.
Prior to that, Saifuddin announced that the tender for procuring the devices was at its final stages.
It was reported on Thursday that the government was set to expand the use of BWCs among police officers in departments and units that interacted directly with the public.
The initiative followed the successful implementation of a pilot project by the traffic police and patrol teams.
Meanwhile, Customs director-general Datuk Anis Rizana Mohd Zainudin also hoped to procure more BWCs for its frontline personnel.
It is understood that the department currently has 61 BWCs in use by its personnel at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), as well as those at the Enforcement Division Headquarters.
"These cameras have greatly reduced the number of complaints lodged against our officers.
"Our officers are making a conscious effort to follow the rules and standard operating procedure.
"The public have also taken note of the use of these cameras."
She said despite some teething issues, where the cameras tended to overheat while operating, improvements have been made to resolve the problem.
"Currently, the cameras are being monitored by live feed, so we only conduct retrieval and review of footage if and when a complaint is lodged," she said.