ALLOCATING more funds that will support the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) efforts to procure more body-worn camera systems will benefit both the 228,000-strong force and the public amid efforts of the PNP to keep the streets safe and enforce the law 24/7, both Houses of Congress were told.

BWCs help police gather and efficiently store audio and video evidence and at the same time protect them against false allegations of misconduct. It has also been proven that people tend to behave differently when they realize their actions are being recorded.

Thus, an individual or a group of individuals being accosted by policemen equipped with BWCs in public tend to stop becoming abusive or be aggressive when they find out that their actions are being recorded.

In June 2021, the Supreme Court required law enforcers to wear body cameras during arrests but said that if there are cases in which arresting officers can prove that the device malfunctioned at the time of the operation or provide other “reasonable grounds,” the arrest would still be considered valid.

“Failure to observe the requirement of using body-worn cameras or an alternative recording device shall not render the arrest unlawful or render the evidence obtained inadmissible. Facts surrounding the arrest may be proven by the testimonies of the arresting officers, the person arrested, and other witnesses to the arrest,” said Section 5, Rule 2 on arrest warrants issued by the High Tribunal.

The Supreme Court also said that a similar rule applies in the implementation of search warrants but made it clear they are stricter on law enforcement since serving a search warrant requires a much higher standard as they start from case build-ups to surveillance until a competent court issues the order to search a particular place upon finding sufficient probable cause against the respondent in a complaint, say for violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 and RA 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulations Act of 2013.

However, lawmakers have been reminded that hundreds of billions of pesos are needed by the PNP to procure high-quality BWCS for all its patrollers and special units to ensure transparency in their day-to-day operations.

According to outgoing PNP Director for Logistics, Major General Ronaldo E. Olay, they have included in their 2024 budget proposal the procurement of additional BWCs although the plan will defend on fiscal fees from the Department of Budget and Management.

The official said the BWCs will only be for the use of members of PNP specialized units tasked to serve warrants of arrest and search warrants in different parts of the country.

He said that was the initial planning and it doesn’t include the ordinary police patrollers, meaning the policemen who pound the beat to keep the streets safe 24/7.

Olay said they have initially procured 2,296 BWC systems in order to store images captured by the BWC itself. “We have to keep them preserved as they could later be used as evidence by the force and other government agencies in the future,” he said.

To date, the PNP is just one of the very few law enforcement agencies in 195 countries across the globe which has decided to use BWCs in their day-to-day operations for transparency.

The BWC — a wearable audio, video or photographic recording system used to record events in which law enforcement officers are involved – is worn on the torso of the policeman’s uniform.

The PNP now headed by General Benjamin C. Acorda Jr. has been acknowledged as among the very few police agencies in the world using the BWC system.

Usually used by law enforcement agencies abroad to record their interactions with the public or gather video evidence at a crime scene, BWCs are currently being used by police agencies in the United States, Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Finland, The Netherlands, France, Sweden and United Arab Emirates.

In Asia, modern police forces from China, Hongkong and Singapore are already using body cams and just like the PNP have strict safeguards on their use with video footage to be deleted 31 days after they were shot unless they are needed in investigation.

However, officers in some of the above-named countries are allowed to deactivate the cameras at their discretion according to the situation which include incidents where they may encounter sexual assault victims.

Singapore police started using the system in 2015 while Hongkong police started experimenting with the technology in 2013. In Pakistan, different police departments in 2020 said they were either planning to or have started using BWCs in a bid to maintain accountability.

In most cases, foreign law enforcement agencies which have used the body cams said the safety of their officers greatly improved. Add to it findings that there was reduced resistance to policemen with BWCs since the behavior of citizens being accosted improved when they noticed that the situation is being recorded.

On June 4, 2021, the PNP launched the BWC System to ensure transparency and the legitimacy of police anti-crime operations, particularly in the service of search or arrest warrants.

The BWCS guarantee that PNP personnel would strictly abide by police operating procedure in law enforcement operations and, at the same time protect them against false and malicious accusations of abuse or misconduct.

The PNP acquired the BWCs for accurate documentation of police and community contacts, arrests, critical incidents, tactical response and other forms of police operations/law enforcement activities.

The PNP’s Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) for the BWCS Project is P333,999,894.19 while the Purchase Order Amount of the Project is P288,888,888 to be supplied by EVI Distribution Inc.

The BWCs delivered by the supplier were found to conform with the requirements of the PNP and have passed the functionality test.

The BWCs have a Central Data Center (CDC) and National Management and Monitoring Center (NMMC) located at the PNP Command Center; 17 Regional Monitoring Centers located at the Police Regional Offices; and 81 Provincial Monitoring Centers located at the Police Provincial Offices, nationwide.

There are 2,696 BWC units distributed to 171 police stations comprising of 20 City Police Offices; 108 City Police Stations; five District Offices of NCRPO; 15 City/Municipal Police Stations of NCRPO; including its 23 Numbered Police Stations.

The video management software is scalable, flexible and can work around the organization, provided a secure and comprehensive management of videos and images taken from the body-worn cameras are offered.

Apart from being weatherproof, the BWCs procured by the PNP have night vision capability with the object detection range of up to 10 meters in the dark, Gen. Eleazar said

The PNP leadership said they need at least 30,000 more BWCs to cover all the police stations and units in various parts of the country.

Right now, there is already a plan to buy more in the coming years which would be distributed not only to the remaining city and municipal police stations but also units of the Mobile Force Battalions and the National Operating Support Units like the Special Action Force, Maritime Group, Aviation Security Group, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, Anti-Kidnapping Group and Highway Patrol Group.

Initially, the BWCS will be used by the police who are on official mission to serve warrants of arrest or search warrants, during hostage-negotiations and the conduct of security coverage in major events like the forthcoming State-of-the-Nation-Address by President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ R. Marcos Jr..

AUTHOR PROFILE

Alfred P. Dalizon