Police Body Cameras Have Proven Effective, According to Interior Ministry

Bratislava, May 2 (TASR) - According to the Interior Ministry, body cameras currently being tested by the police in several Slovak cities have proven effective, protecting both officers and the public while increasing transparency in police operations, TASR has learnt from ministry spokesman Matej Neumann. "The public procurement is in the preparation phase. The feasibility study is being finalised, and its results and recommendations will be considered in the materials for the public procurement," said the spokesman regarding the nationwide deployment of the cameras. The police force began testing body cameras for officers in Bratislava and Kosice at the start of December last year. In March, police officers in Banska Bystrica also joined the testing. The introduction of the pilot phase for the deployment of cameras was one of the measures taken after the widely publicised incident in Kosice, when a police officer allegedly caused multiple injuries to a man detained for a criminal offence on November 5, which led to the man's death in hospital the following day. Human rights experts have long been calling for the widespread deployment of cameras. lin/mcs