Body-worn cameras for enforcement personnel

Enforcement officers in a neighbouring country with the body-worn camera clipped onto their uniform at chest level. — Filepic

ENFORCEMENT officers in all 12 local councils in Selangor will soon be required to wear body-worn cameras (BWC) when carrying out operations against those who break the law.

Selangor local government, public transportation and new village development committee chairman Ng Sze Han said this would help provide a clearer picture of what transpired during their course of duty.

The proposal to have the cameras, Ng said, was mooted during a discussion with heads of local governments in Selangor recently.

Currently only the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBP) and Ampang Jaya Municipal Council enforcement units have BWC.

Ng said having BWC for enforcement personnel would be helpful when investigating complaints against the officers as well as offenders.

“We are now studying the cost for this equipment.

“Soon every Selangor enforcement personnel will be equipped with the BWC during operations which has both visual and audio recordings.

“They will help identify the cause of incidents such as provocative gestures or actions of either party, ” Ng added.

Ng (second from left), together with Mohd Sayuthi (left), Suhaimi (third from left) during the press conference held at the MBPJ headquarters in Petaling Jaya yesterday.

Echoing the same sentiment, Petaling Jaya mayor Datuk Mohd Sayuthi Bakar urged the public not to confront enforcement personnel who were merely carrying out their duties.

Mohd Sayuthi said MBPJ had 50 BWC units for its enforcement personnel.

Two incidents this month went viral showing confrontations between enforcement officers and the public in Shah Alam and Subang Jaya.

On another issue, Ng said effective March 1 this year, there will be an additional clause for the work permit approval by local governments to third party companies who caused pipes to burst during their work.

“If a pipe bursts during works by a third party, the local governments are required to issue a stop-work order for a suitable period or a minimum of 30 days, ” said Ng.

He added that there were 295 burst pipe incidents caused by third party companies in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya that caused water disruption.

Air Selangor chief executive officer Suhaimi Kamaralzaman said with the additional clause, the contractors need to obtain prior approval from Air Selangor to avoid damaging the pipes and affecting water supply.

“Previously, there were cases where we had to fork out almost RM500,000 to repair broken pipes and Air Selangor had to supply water through tankers and water stations to the affected areas.

Ng also said the state government was waiting for approval from the Federal Government on its proposal to amend the Enactment 672 Solid Water and Cleansing Management.

“Selangor has a high population thus the amount of solid waste produced is high and we have different systems of solid waste management, ” he added.