It will take a long time before a bill on rolling out body cameras on police officers and their vehicles gets through parliament considering Wednesday’s heated debate on this before the House Legal Committee.
Very strong objections were raised by Opposition Akel MPs – especially by Aristos Damianou who argued that the bill is rife with contradictions, inconsistencies and has serious potential for being unconstitutional.
This issue is under discussion since 2016 yet it was obvious that proposed amendments still need to be processed before they get to be incorporated into the existing legislation.
Even police officers, themselves, who will be relieved of a lot of trouble with the possible camera use expressed concerns over the bill during Wednesday’s debate.
Damianou went as far as to say the ‘sloppy’ bill includes more than 10 points that contradict chapter 9 of the Evidence Act.
He also suggested that Assistant Attorney General, Savvas Angelides, be summoned to give his opinion on the legal issues raised – something that Committee chairperson Fotini Tsiridou of Disy party agreed to.
Angelides – the second ranking officer in the Legal Service – will be invited to the next meeting to exchange views on the bill.
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