City Police using only 11 of 30 sanctioned; District Police have 54 cameras, majority used by Traffic wing

Mysore/Mysuru: It has been eight years since the City Police got Body Worn Cameras (BWC) in 2015, to ensure transparency in day-to-day functioning on the field, but not all the cameras are in use for reasons best known to  the authorities.

Body Cameras are back in news with a recent circular issued by Karnataka DG & IGP Alok Mohan making it compulsory for all Police personnel to wear the camera during work, to check growing number of illegal activities and corrupt practices among the Police.

During B. Dayanand’s (now Bengaluru Police Commissioner) previous stint as Mysuru City Police Commissioner (from Apr. 2015 to Oct. 2016), 30 Body Cameras were sanctioned for Traffic wing, excluding Law and Order (L&O) and only 11 among them are used now. The cameras in use are linked to Mobile Command Centre, which is deployed during protests, wordy duels between Police and motorists and other sensitive issues to ensure transparency.

The cameras were sanctioned after a successful trial, with on- duty Police manning traffic in city centre, using the equipment.

Dayanand, who now heads Bengaluru City Police as Commissioner, can be still seen sporting Body Cam.

When SOM spoke to Mysuru City Police Chief B. Ramesh about the latest circular, he said “We have not received any circular, order or communication so far about Body Cams. However, we have been using already sanctioned cameras during the tenure of my predecessor Dayanand. If the fresh order is issued, we shall have to take sanction and implement.”

The District Police too are equipped with 54 Body Cams and majority of them are used by traffic wing. However, it is only during sensitive situations that even those Police personnel manning Law and Order are also made to use those cameras.

DG and IGP Alok Mohan was not available for comment.