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Traffic > Safety

Makati traffic officers will now use body cameras

A total of 180 units will help them manage the road

Don't be alarmed when you see this gadget. It's just a camera for the sake of transparency. PHOTO FROM MY MAKATI

After an encounter between a traffic officer and a motorist, one party sometimes claims that the other was abusive, discourteous or corrupt. It’s one person’s word against another’s. Thanks to modern technology, it doesn’t have to be a battle of allegations anymore. Compact cameras are now being used to monitor the affairs of those in authority.

And now, this technology will be utilized by the Makati Public Safety Department, which has just announced the acquisition of 180 body cameras to be issued to the city’s traffic officers.

Let's hope these cameras are durable and reliable. PHOTO FROM MY MAKATI

According to a Facebook post, Makati PSD personnel were even trained by the supplier—a British company called Digital Barriers—on how to properly use the devices. The gadgets, when fully charged, are said to have an eight-hour operating time. Not only are these cameras able to document incidents as they happen, they are also able to transmit footage in real time to a command center.

“The body cameras will not only promote transparency on the field, they will also aid in faster response time in case of a road accident or an emergency,” the post said.

A snappy salute to traffic officers doing their job. PHOTO FROM MY MAKATI

We guess this also puts an end to the practice of bribery on both sides—assuming, of course, that the body camera is running throughout the entirety of the encounter between the traffic officer and the motorist.



Vernon B. Sarne

Vernon is the founder and editor-in-chief of VISOR. He has been an automotive journalist since July 1995. He became one by serendipity, walking into the office of a small publishing company and applying for a position he had no idea was for a local car magazine. God has watched over him throughout his humble journey. He writes the ‘Spoiler’ column.



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