The National Data Protection Commission (CNPD) recommended to parliament the identification of police officers who will use ‘bodycams’ with numbers on their uniforms and helmets, a clear definition of a firearm.
In an opinion sent to the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees, regarding a bill presented by the PSD to expand the use of firearms by security forces and the use of ‘bodycams’ when the use of firearms is at stake, the CNPD focused its analysis on two points: how police officers are identified when a firearm is used and what a firearm is.
For the CNPD, “it remains to be determined how the police or security forces agent will be identified” that uses a ‘bodycam’this being an issue considered relevant, since the images collected can be used in case of misuse of the firearm, or in case of incorrect use or non-use of portable cameras.
To resolve the issue, this commission admitted that “you may be assigned an individual and visible number to be placed on the uniform, including on the respective protective helmet”reads the opinion sent to parliament.
Regarding the legal definition of a firearm, the CNPD said it was unsure whether this “covers only mechanical propulsion devices for firing projectiles from metallic casings or also covers plastic or rubber-coated metal casings or even launch tear gas charges, used, for example, for riot control”.
This “legal uncertainty”, as classified by the CNPD and which comes from the previous decree that is in force, “compromises the scope of the forecast for the use of portable cameras for individual use” – which are known as ‘bodycams’.
The National Data Protection Commission further recommended carrying out a “impact study on the protection of personal data, before the approval of this bill”.
In February, parliament discussed and voted on two bills to expand the use of firearms: Chega’s proposal was rejected and PSD’s proposal fell to the specialty without a vote and will be discussed in the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees, where it may be subject to changes.
Current law establishes that security forces can use firearms to capture or prevent the escape of a person who is suspected of having committed crimes for which the sentence is longer than three years or who has on their person or is using a firearm, sharp weapons “or devices or substances that are explosive, radioactive or suitable for the manufacture of toxic or asphyxiating gases”.
The PSD proposal intends that security forces may use firearms against people who have weapons with lethal capacity.
The object of this bill is “offer greater legal protection to security forces and services and provide greater transparency in interactions with the public”said the party.
