Quintana Roo Police Get 1,000 Body Cameras

Cancún, Mexico — The Secretariat of Citizen Security of Quintana Roo plans to provide approximately one thousand body cameras for police officers in several municipalities. James Tobin Cunningham, the general coordinator of the Quintana Roo State Citizen Security and Justice Council, stated that these supplies could be directed toward municipalities with scarce resources.

"I know, because I am familiar with this, that the Secretariat of Security will purchase a significant quantity, I don't know how many cameras that is, I would be lying to you, but I believe it is at least one thousand to deliver them even to some municipalities," Cunningham said. "So, for those that do not have as much capacity for resources, such as perhaps Lázaro Cárdenas or José María Morelos, my understanding is that cameras will be delivered by the state."

He also stated that part of this technological equipment could be for officers of the state police force, with the objective of outfitting them within this year.

The interviewee commented that the body cameras must have the same characteristics, such as long-lasting batteries and the capability to send an alert if they are blocked, allowing them to be reconnected from command centers.

"Those are the most important characteristics and that, yes, I know, they are, uh, would be the same capabilities everywhere," he added.

James Tobin Cunningham considered that equipping police forces with body cameras will help provide oversight of security operations, both for the officers and for citizens, to ensure transparency and certainty in these tasks.

"I have seen, because I have verified it, in some cases where the authority does not conduct itself correctly and that is where the camera helps, but I have also seen citizens who do not act correctly and also generate a misinterpretation of what is happening," Cunningham stated. "For me, the body camera is fundamental."

Finally, he considered it fundamental that all law enforcement agencies be equipped with this type of technology, "even the Attorney General's Office itself, as providing certainty in police work could help improve the perception of security, because (the cameras) bring the reality to light."

On October 12, Cristina Torres Gómez, the state secretary of government, assured that it is expected that officers of the police forces in all 11 municipalities will be equipped with body cameras by the end of 2026.