Dickson says police officers committed to using body cameras

Senior Reporter

rhondor.dowlat@guardian.co.tt

Trinidad and Tobago Police Service Social and Welfare Association president, ASP Gideon Dickson, has reaffirmed the association’s commitment to the use of body-worn cameras by officers, describing the technology as “essential” for modern policing.

“We have gone on record indicating that we want all our officers to utilise the body-worn cameras provided to engage in patrols and inquiries,” Dickson said yesterday, underscoring that the cameras are crucial for “accountability” and “transparency” in law enforcement.

Speaking during a telephone interview, Dickson addressed past concerns about the implementation of body cameras, clarifying that any hesitation was due to practical issues rather than opposition from officers to its use.

“I think that I was misinterpreted in the past,” he explained, noting that his previous comments were about the need for proper training.

“If you are introducing something new into law enforcement, there ought to be a level of training that goes with it.”

One significant problem that allegedly emerged was the failure to ensure footage captured by the cameras could be downloaded into a TTPS database.

“We have information, which I’m yet to validate, but I know it has come from a credible source, that one of the problems which existed with our body-worn cameras in the past is the fact that the person responsible for IT did not purchase the docking set,” Dickson said.

He said this oversight meant that officers might have been operating under the assumption that their cameras were fully functional when, in fact, they would not have been able to access footage after recording it.

“You might be going out there thinking that you have a camera in full operational mode, and nothing is happening because you can’t really get the footage subsequently,” he added.

Despite these challenges, Dickson expressed optimism about the increasing use of body-worn cameras within the TTPS.

“There has been an uptick in terms of the usage of the body-worn cameras that are in circulation by the officers, and that is an encouraging sign for us as an organisation,” he noted.

Currently, he said the TTPS has “approximately 745 cameras” in active use for operations, with an additional 200 being used for training purposes.However, he said the TTPS is working to expand body cameras significantly.

“The organisation would have gone through the procurement process to acquire 2,000 cameras,” Dickson revealed, with “1,000 expected at the end of October” and the remaining units anticipated by March next year.

He reassured the public that the TTPS remains committed to “keeping Trinidad and Tobago safe,” stating, “We have not given up on the battle. We have not lost the battle. It is a work in progress.”

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