Cops can be charged & demoted for deleting body cam footage – Walrond

Police officers who are given body cameras to monitor their interactions with members of the public are being warned that they would face charges and even demotions if they delete footage captured by the device.

This was revealed by Home Affairs Minister Oneidge Walrond during her recent appearance on the Starting Point podcast.

Based on the Guyana Police Force’s Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), all ranks on duty are required to turn on their body cams, especially when interacting with the public.

Footage captured by the body cams is taken to the Command Centres in the respective policing division and stored there. It is then viewed for infractions such as traffic offences or in cases of confrontations.

“So, the footage is always there… The command centres have the capacity to keep that footage and store it… So it’s not every time [or] every day that you are viewing the footage, but the footage has to be available for viewing at any time that the Police would like,” Walrond noted.

According to the Home Affairs Minister, the introduction of body cameras for Police ranks has proven to be a success, especially as it relates to holding them accountable for their actions when interacting with members of the public, and vice versa.

“The Police force treats it very seriously,” she explained when asked about the penalty for officers who delete the footage captured on their body cams.

The Minister added, “The SOP determines that it’s an offence; that under the Police rules, you can be charged or surcharged – so disciplinary matters – and as a result of disciplinary proceedings, you can be demoted.”

Admitting that there has been some level of resistance, Walrond noted that ranks on the road and those stationed at strategic locations such as the airports have been getting used to the equipment. To this end, she revealed that they are now looking at expanding the programme to more officers across the country.

“It certainly helps with accountability… And we’re seeing how the recordings are working in our favour in terms of crime fighting. So, the body cams – we’re going to expand that programme in the coming year [in] this new budget, because it certainly works. It removes this element of eyewitnesses, which can be flawed in its own right, and everything is just recorded there. So the idea is to keep it,” she stated.

Moreover, the Minister noted that the body cams also aid with escalating situations.

“You don’t have to walk with a big firearm to do ordinary policing. It’s about de-escalating… It’s quite worrying when you find the members of the public feel that they can take advantage because the Police are trained to not confront with violence. And we have seen in other jurisdictions where Police use lethal force on citizens… And we are so blessed in this country to not have to face those kinds of things with the Police force. And I think we sometimes take it for granted.”

“But ultimately, we don’t plan to change our direction in terms of how we address policing, that it’s done in a manner where violence is the last, last option. And we will continue to use cameras, the digital, the technology to deal with people who feel that they can, and treat with them very– treat with it very seriously and forcefully in the courts,” she contended.