The News
Friday 29 of March 2024

Regulation of Police Cameras to Begin in Mexico City


Drones are useful to the police, but the videos that they record will not be more tightly regulated,photo: Wikimedia
Drones are useful to the police, but the videos that they record will not be more tightly regulated,photo: Wikimedia
The SSP said the regulations are intended to uphold respect for human rights when police record images and sound

Starting Thursday, guidelines will be enforced to regulate the use of land-monitoring camera installed in police stations, patrols and drones and used by the Public Security Secretariat (SSP) of Mexico City.

The SSP said the regulations are intended to uphold respect for human rights when recording images and sound.

In an agreement published in the Official Gazette, the SSP explained that among the purposes of these ground-monitoring cameras are to have a record of the performance of the members of the police, within the framework of the Criminal Justice System.

The SSP said that in each administrative unit there will be increased supervision of the cameras, accounts, usernames and passwords used to enter the management system.

It also clarified that the police officers in charge should document police operations, arrests, transfers and referrals, guards duties and custody, supervisions, inspections, interviews, as well as work carried out on demonstrations, strikes, protests, and rallies.

According to the guidelines, the use and care of the cameras will be the responsibility of each of the police officers assigned to them.

In addition to classifying the video by case number, those in charge will make a brief description of content with important data such as minutes where a relevant act is observed, the place of recording, and the name of the police officer who recorded the material, among other details.

The SSP stressed that surveillance equipment in police stations is autonomous, accounting for the reason why those working at each station are not licensed to use it.

The Secretariat also stated that drones are used for identifying events occurring in Mexico City in real-time and that they offer an aerial perspective that allows an improved view of events, particularly traffic problems and emergency situations where there is difficulty getting close to the scene.

The agency added that the police officers in charge must protect the personal data of those they have recorded.