Trinidad and Tobago’s revised Special Operations Bill includes provisions on body-worn cameras, access to police footage and a two-year sunset clause. The legislation is intended to provide security agencies with expanded powers in designated areas while retaining safeguards involving human rights, complaints and judicial oversight.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said in Parliament that police officers conducting special operations in designated areas would be required to use body cameras. However, the bill states that officers and Defence Force members must use the devices “as far as is possible having regard to available resources,” making implementation dependent on equipment and other available resources.
The proposed law would also allow several oversight and investigative bodies to access body-camera recordings and related data. Those bodies include the Police Service Commission, the Police Complaints Authority, police investigative units, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Office of the Ombudsman. The measure is intended to create a record of operations and support investigations into complaints or alleged misconduct.
The bill introduces a sunset clause under which the proposed Special Operations Act would expire two years after coming into force unless Parliament passes legislation to extend or replace it. That provision was not included in the earlier Zones of Special Operations proposal, which failed to secure the required three-fifths majority in the Senate.
The revised legislation also changes the structure of the security framework. Rather than establishing Zones of Special Operations, it divides Trinidad and Tobago into seven policing districts, with six covering groupings of municipalities in Trinidad and one covering Tobago. Specific locations within those districts could then be declared “closed areas” where enhanced security measures would apply.
The bill is being advanced as the country’s state of emergency approaches its scheduled end. Persad-Bissessar said the proposed framework would include training in human rights, lawful use of force, engagement with residents and conflict de-escalation. The legislation also provides for detainees’ access to medical care and visitation, while expanded powers of search, arrest and detention would remain subject to judicial oversight.
The body-camera provision has been a major issue in earlier ZOSO debates. The Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago previously criticized wording that made camera use dependent on available resources and argued that officers should be required to use body cameras or another recording system during special operations. The new bill retains a resource-based qualification while expanding access to recordings and introducing a time limit for the legislation.