Belgium’s Council of Ministers gave the green light on Thursday to a new law on cameras, first approved in July 2016, Interior and Justice Ministers Jan Jambon and Koen Geens announced. The law authorises police officers to wear bodycams during interventions, provided they are visible and that they warn people when they are using them.
The law also provides for the use of ANPR cameras for number-plate recognition. They will be used in addition to roadside radar equipment already installed along highways.
The data obtained through these devices will be kept for a year, instead of one month as now obtains. Access to it will be limited to the judiciary police after two months for offences punishable with at least one year in prison. Such access will require the agreement of the public prosecutor.
The intelligence service will also have access to the data, contingent upon the approval of Standing Committee I (Comité R.), which is responsible for reviewing the activities and functioning of state security and the General Intelligence and Security Service.
The Brussels Times
