The second-highest-ranking official of the US Justice Department, Attorney General Lisa Monaco, announced some new policy guidelines on Monday, June 07, 2021. As per the new regulations, US Federal agents have to wear body cameras while executing search warrants or making pre-planned arrests from now on.
The Department of Public Safety/University Police at Western Washington University is about to commence a pilot program to assess the effectiveness of body-worn cameras by University Police officers.
The above news fragments prove that there has been worldwide hype regarding the induction of body-worn cameras in the duty line of law enforcement agencies recently.
Body-worn cameras are regarded as a piece of Policing equipment generally. It is also known as a body camera, wearable camera, body-worn video (BWV), body-worn camera (BWC), or Bodycam (for short).
The body-worn camera is a wearable device that can record videos, audio, and capture pictures of people or places. These cameras help record events that have the involvement of law enforcement officers. The interactions between the officer or official and the general public are recorded using the camera.
Law enforcement officers typically wear the equipment on the torso of their uniforms. Some cameras can be worn on their chest, helmet, or hat too.
Android body worn cameras are the newest addition to this product line. These cameras come with a small touch screen and work on the Android operating system. Depending on the situation, the captured videos and photographs can be relayed to the control station using 3G/4G/WiFi/Bluetooth technology. This improves the utility and convenience of body-worn cameras.
The body-worn cameras are capable of recording both audio and video. Some cameras possess a front-facing screen through which the camera displays the scene it captures. Therefore a person who gets filmed using this camera can see what the camera is capturing.
Some of these cameras have a flashing light on the front which is an indicator that video record mode is on. The filmed video would have the date, time, date stamps, and GPS coordinates. Some cameras are capable of real-time streaming too.
Some cameras acknowledge Bluetooth trigger options for automatic recording. These body-worn cameras can turn on automatic recording without manual triggering. Turning on a cruiser’s lights or sirens, crash sensor activation (when the car reaches a certain speed), etc. can switch on those cameras.
A newcomer on the radar is a wireless holster sensor camera that can turn on its own when a gun is drawn from the officer's holster. This would completely drive out the human factor from switching on the body-worn cameras.
Once the recording is over, the recorded Footage can be uploaded to external databases maintained by police agencies or third-party vendors. Agencies are mainly relying on cloud storage of data these days.
The main use of the body-worn camera is that it provides video footage with audio when Police decide to stop and frisk someone, search a property, perform a car chase, force stop a vehicle, conduct a witness interview, issue a summons, or make an arrest. Law enforcement authorities get the real picture of the events from the officer's perspective with the help of body-worn cameras.
The recorded videos from body-worn cameras are of high resolution. Since the recordings provide audio and video of the people, it is possible to digitize their faces. These digitized files are the inputs in high-end face-recognition software to help officers identify criminals accurately. These are helpful in wild chases or hit-and-run cases.
The microphone attached to the camera is also hi-tech and capable of recording even the background noise. That means these cameras can capture the conversation of bystanders in addition to the sound of the targeted situation. This feature would come in handy during investigations.
The body-worn cameras are using docking stations to store the videos and it is also used for charging the camera. So, they can gather live evidence of events with the help of recorded video and audio. Therefore with body-worn cameras, it is possible to have high-level tracking and monitoring of events.
Police forces and security agencies use body-worn cameras to generate Metadata. The personal and transactional information of the user, device, and the activities taking place related to an event or a case is called Metadata. The date, time, duration, and location of the recorded events are also a part of the Metadata generated. With Body cams, law enforcement authorities can generate high-quality metadata. Metadata generated is very effective in thorough investigations.
Police and other law enforcement organizations in countries around the world use wearable cameras. The body cams used in the military are mostly helmet cameras. One of those cameras covered the raid at the hideout of Osama Bin Laden. That camera also live-streamed the whole operation to Whitehouse miles away. In the military, the footage from body cams can either be stored locally or streamed back to a command center or military outpost.
Helmet cameras are helpful for firefighters too. They mainly use it to assess fire and for communication and training purposes. The cameras used in this sector are thermal cameras.
Body-worn cameras are suggested and explored in parts of the medical field. Medical researchers often find difficulties with errors in self-reporting data. The body cams can limit the error in self-reporting data and thus leaves behind a more accurate dataset. With fewer errors, the medical research would be more precise and authentic.
The body cams have become increasingly popular among law enforcement agencies over the years. The results of the body-worn camera usage on officers and security guards have been groundbreaking. There are numerous benefits bodycams bring to the table.
The first and foremost benefit is the drastic reduction in the number of charges and altercations police officers face. According to Ron Miller, the Chief of Kansas Police, everyone is on their best behavior when the camera is running, the Police, the people, everyone!! The body-worn cameras record the real-time happenings, and officers can be free from false allegations of misconduct.
Bodycams enhance the accountability of law enforcement authorities considerably. Body-worn cameras have brought professionalism throughout the force.
The recorded video from body-worn cameras can be presented in court if necessary, and this is one of the great benefits of the device.
Large amounts of data are recorded and stored that would be helpful in criminal investigations. These recorded data that give factual information of the events can act as a powerful training tool. Videos help in improving the performance of officers. Agencies can use the recorded video for giving scenario-based training to officers. The videos from body cams help in the performance evaluation of new officers. They also help to identify the areas where training is required.
Body-worn cameras have increased the transparency of police operations. They also have the potential to build trust between federal officers and the communities they serve.
The University of Cambridge conducted a study in 2013 regarding the efficacy of body cams in the duty line of law enforcement authorities. The study revealed that the police and respondents are less violent when police wear body cameras. Thus the use of body cams has resulted in a whopping drop in force rate by 50%.
Body cams have presented the opportunity to the law enforcement authorities to raise their performance standards. With the help of body-worn cams, the authorities can now improve their tactics, communication, and customer service.
Among the world countries, the United Kingdom was the first country to try out a body-worn camera in 2005. The Police force had comprehended that the usage of body cams has increased public reassurance and reduced fear of crimes in local communities. Body-worn cameras also increased early guilty pleas, resolved complaints about police officers or wardens more quickly, and finally reduced the assaults on officers.
