TOKYO – Japanese police officers will begin wearing cameras from late August as part of a pilot project announced by the National Police Agency on July 24.
Officers will wear small “wearable cameras” for recording during on-the-spot questioning, traffic enforcement, crowd control and other activities.
The project will be trialled in 13 prefectural police departments, including those of Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka.
According to the agency, a total of 76 cameras will be deployed in the regional, traffic and security divisions of the 13 police headquarters to collect evidence of incidents and accidents and to verify the response of the attending police officers.
Cameras will be attached to the chest of their uniforms or their helmets. Officers will also wear armbands to inform people, and a red light on the camera will show that filming is in progress.
In order to protect privacy, the cameras will not be turned on inside residences or offices.
In delicate situations, such as speaking with victims of sexual assault, officers can make the decision to stop filming. As a general rule, footage will be kept for between one week and three months before being erased.
In recent years, there have been a number of videos appearing on social media showing police officers questioning people while on duty.
It is expected that footage taken with the wearable cameras will make it easier to verify the actions of attending police officers. THE JAPAN NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
