Indian Railways to provide body cameras to ticket checkers

Railway ticket checkers are being provided body cameras with the aim to ensure transparency in the process and prevent violent and unruly behaviour on board trains, officials said.

As a pilot project, the Central Railway has procured 50 such body cameras and provided them to ticket checkers in the Mumbai Division.

Procured at a cost of Rs 9,000 each, these body cameras can record about 20 hours of footage.

Officials say that if the pilot project in Mumbai is successful, it will be replicated across the rail network.

Body cameras were first worn by police in the United Kingdom in 2005 and have since been adopted by numerous police forces and law enforcement agencies worldwide. Several police forces in India also use body cameras.

Recently a travelling ticket examiner was suspended after he allegedly misbehaved with a woman passenger in the Central Railways.

Officials said there have also been errant passengers on broad trains.

Several studies over the past decade have concluded that the body cameras did not live up to its expectations.

The existing research provided mixed results as to whether the cameras reduce the use of force by police officers or increase the communities' trust in police.

In the railways' case, officials hope that the cameras will act as a deterrent against bad behaviour and malpractice.