Police to get body cameras to increase transparency

In a bid to increase transparency and improve the public’s trust in law enforcement, Israeli police officers will be equipped with body-worn cameras over the next year, the Israel Police said in a statement Wednesday.

“The decision was made due to an understanding of the effectiveness of using personal cameras on police officers, for the purpose of increasing transparency in the police’s work and as an important tool in building trust in the contact between officer and citizen,” the statement said.

A plan to equip cops with cameras gained publicity in Israel in May, when Likud MK Avraham Neguise proposed a bill requiring police engaged in arrests to wear video cameras.

Negusie’s bill came after a clip emerged in April showing Ethiopian-Israeli soldier Damas Pakada being beaten by two police officers in the city of Holon, south of Tel Aviv. One of the officers was fired, and Pakada was invited to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In pushing for his bill in May, Negusie said that it would “solve the problem of police brutality directed against those of Ethiopian origin in Israel and against citizens in general.” He added that it would “reduce the number of false complaints of police brutality.”

Body-worn cameras on police came to the center of national focus in the United States in the aftermath of the August 2014 police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

Five years after outfitting its officers with cameras, the city of Oakland, California, saw a 72 percent drop in “use-of-force incidents.” Other US cities have also shown positive results after implementing the program.