New Law Cuts Bureaucracy for Video Evidence Use
Parliament this week passed an amendment to the Code of Misdemeanor Procedure that will make it easier for Police to use video evidence in cases of traffic and other violations.
“This very important change allows us to use police resources much more practically [...]” Interior Minister Ken-Marti Vaher said in a press release today.
Currently, video evidence is only accepted if it is accompanied by an official written document, a requirement which will be dropped. The new law, expected to come into effect this summer, will also decrease the time spent writing up a misdemeanor procedure from between 30 to 40 minutes to 20 minutes, saving an estimated 70,000 hours a year.
“One picture is worth more than a thousand words, as the saying goes. Besides the time saving aspect, video evidence rules out human error and increases the quality of misdemeanor procedures,” Vaher said.
Police hope to have the new system in use by August of this year, with many traffic police vehicles already fitted with cameras.
In addition, an e-procedure system, which would allow police officers to submit documents and protocols electronically from their patrol cars, is in the testing phase.