Police in Chongqing Municipality in southwest China don't need to use hand-held camcorders to gather evidence anymore. In fact, they don't need to use their hands at all.

The police who patrol the downtown Jiefangbei area have a new video and audio recording device attached to their hats.

Weighing less than 50 grams, the gadget doesn't place any stress on its wearers, according to a local police officer surnamed Yang.

He says the device is connected to a cell phone-sized video camera at the waist. It comes with a 1 gigabyte memory card and can work non-stop for one hour.

An official from the city's Security Bureau says they introduced the cameras to allow officers to snap evidence in real-time.

He says the new devices won't infringe on people's right to privacy because police have used cameras to collect evidence for a long time. The new device just makes the process easier.

The Chongqing police department has always been on the cutting edge in terms of new equipment. Earlier this year, dispatched armored vehicles were used to patrol the city for the first time.

Officers on patrol also adopted roller blades last year.

A police officer uses a camera attached to his hat to gather evidence in southwestern China's Chongqing Municipality on Saturday, April 14, 2007.

(CRI April 16, 2007)