Police officers to use lapel camera next year: Minister

ANKARA

All police officers across the country will be equipped with body cameras integrated with facial recognition systems in 2025, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya has announced.

"By 2025, every police officer will wear an on-body camera. The interactions between the police and citizens will be recorded, capturing the attitude and conduct of my police officers and gendarmes," Yerlikaya said during an interview with private broadcaster CNN Türk late on Feb. 28.

Currently utilized only by some traffic police officers in Istanbul, this application will enable real-time monitoring of camera footage from the police station, facilitating swifter actions against suspects, the minister noted.

"With the lapel camera, complaints, allegations and behaviors against the police can be also promptly assessed,” he stated, noting that the system aims to establish more transparent public relations and allow immediate intervention in unfolding incidents.

Yerlikaya also added that the facial recognition system integrated into the cameras will be developed by Aselsan, Türkiye’s leading defense industry firm.

Sharing data on the ministry's efforts in counter-terrorism and combating illegal migration from last June, when he took office, until Feb. 25, Yerlikaya mentioned that security forces thwarted 125 terrorist acts, 91 of which were bombings.

Regarding operations against the PKK terrorist organization, he reported that more than 20,500 operations nationwide resulted in neutralizing 769 terrorists.

Turkish authorities use the term "neutralize" to denote that the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured. The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the U.S. and the EU.

Highlighting the ministry's stringent measures against illegal migration and human trafficking, Yerlikaya stated that Türkiye had ceased to be a transit route for migrants due to the successful implementation of these measures.

Over the nine-month period, security forces apprehended over 9,000 suspected human smugglers, with more than 3,300 of them arrested.