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Picture of a body camera.
The South African Police Union (SAPU) expects Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to allocate sufficient funds to the newly introduced police body-worn cameras when he delivers his first Government of National Unity (GNU) budget speech at 2pm this afternoon.
Police Minister Senzo Mchunu says the initiative will be rolled out in April this year.
One hundred body-worn cameras will initially be bought with each estimated to cost nearly R29 000.
The union says the cameras are crucial for providing visual evidence in cases where police officers are killed or accused of misconduct.
SAPU Spokesperson Lesiba Thobakgale says body cameras will help provide evidence to find those who murder police officers.
“We clearly welcome such an initiative because it will serve a very great purpose, the most important issue it will assist when it comes to locating police killers as we know the high rate of police killings in this country.”
“In terms of the issue of corruption, definitely if one is wearing a body cam, every action that will be recorded is what will appear. It will serve as a deterrent in terms of any form of criminality by anyone – be it the officers or the members of the society. But we are seeing it in a positive light,” Thobakgale adds.
VIDEO | Uses of body cameras
