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[av_heading heading=’ ABOVE THE LAW ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=’30’ subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY AYIN DREAM D. APLASCA
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Wednesday. September 20, 2017
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LAST July 30, the police conducted a pre-dawn search operation in the house of Ozamiz City mayor Reynaldo Parojinog Sr. Unfortunately, the mayor and his wife Susan were killed with 14 others.
Suspiciously, prior to the said operation, policemen disabled the CCTV cameras in the Parojinog residence. The obvious reason was to prevent the recording of the identities of police informants and those who were with them.
The surveillance system was wrong. Do you think the operation was legitimate? Many would answer in the negative. The remedy?
There is a proposal for the Senate and the House of Representatives to pass a law requiring policemen to wear body cameras. This will be detrimental to policemen with bad intentions. Their illegal activities will be hindered.
Unfair or not, a lot of incidents made many people deeply skeptical of law enforcement processes and procedures as well as how policemen handle potentially contentious situations. Having body cameras has great benefits both to the victims and policemen.
First, the video obtained can help show the clearest picture of what happened in an incident, especially when policemen do surveillance operations.
Second, it allows policemen to evaluate themselves and find great opportunities to improve their operations.
Third, this will lessen complaints that can lead to a substantial decrease in the time and resources devoted to investigating and resolving criminal and civil litigations.
No matter where this may lead, it seems that this proposal favors both the public and the police. Of course, there are valid concerns such as how this body camera technology will be implemented.
The government is presented with a great challenge here. I hope these body cameras will provide an opportunity for policemen to strengthen their relationship with communities where they operate.
(Atty. Ayin Dream D. Aplasca practices her profession in Iloilo City. She may be reached thru ayindream.aplasca@gmail.com/PN)
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