Police departments around the country are adopting body-worn cameras everywhere you turn. What is it that is driving this increase in adoption, and what are the goals of equipping law enforcement officers with these tools?
Why Body-Worn Cameras?
At the end of 2015, the state of New Jersey announced that it would be spending $2.5 million to provide police departments with body cameras. That breaks down into 175 agencies receiving monetary awards from $1,000 to $125,000 to purchase the equipment.
The big factor driving the surge in providing body-worn cameras? The pursuit of mutual accountability and transparency between the public and law enforcement.
Other states have been on the path for much longer. Last March the San Diego Police Department showed a correlation between using body-worn cameras with a lower number of complaints by residents a well as a decrease in use of force. Here’s how those numbers broke down according to a report that was released March 2015.
- Complaints fell 41%
- Total allegations were reduced by 60%
- Use of “personal body” force by officers dropped by 47%.
- Use of pepper spray was also reduced by 31%
The big drivers behind using body-cams for the San Diego PDs? They have both proven to be “game-changers” according to the Police Chief as they show clear correlations between citizen complaints and use of force.
[Native Advertisement]Body-worn cameras aren’t the only piece of technology catching the eye of police departments. Oher pieces of equipment that have become popular among law enforcement professionals include:
- Mobile recording devices such as the iRecord Anywhere Portable Tablet Recorder which allows law enforcement officials to record from anywhere they are.
- Digital video recording systems which allow interviewers and child advocacy center staff to capture witness and suspect testimony that allow speedier times to trial, less threatening environments for recording.
- Interview Management Systems like iRecord’s Evidence Vault Management System which allow the entire team to manage, store, and retrieve all data associated with recorded interviews.
These are just a few of the items that are on the market and gaining more and more attention. If you’re looking for ways to ensure your law enforcement team have all the equipment they need in order to bring increased public goodwill, improved times-to-trial, better accountability between the public and the police, greater agility with your current recording process and more, we would love to have a conversation.
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