According to the Pew Research Center, almost 70 percent of all adults in the United States own smartphones. That number rises to 86 percent among adults between the ages of 18 years and 29 years.1
There are many advantages to essentially carrying a computer in one’s pocket, and one of those advantages is the ability to record video at the touch of a button.
This ability has had a ripple effect across many corners of society, but probably none more so than in law enforcement. Police departments have responded to the trend of citizen recordings by increasing their own video recording capabilities, most notably through body-worn cameras.
To date, body-worn cameras have yielded mixed results for the departments that have deployed them. For example, in Washington, D.C., footage from a camera worn by a Metropolitan Police Department officer helped shed light on an officer-involved shooting on Christmas Day.2
However, body-worn cameras have also led to increased scrutiny when they are not properly utilized. Also in Washington, D.C., in September 2016, an officer’s fatal shooting of resident Terrence Sterling created extra controversy because the officer’s body-worn camera was not turned on until after the shooting.3
Similar incidents occurred in the shootings of Keith Scott in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Paul O’Neal in Chicago, Illinois.4
Manufacturers have responded by making cameras that are more automatic and intuitive to remove inadvertent operator errors from the equation. Advancing technologies can mean many new options, but in the case of body-worn cameras, ease of use may be the highest current priority.
“Everything is supposed to simplify, not make more work for [officers],” said Monica Marcos, marketing and sales specialist for Safety Vision, LLC, a manufacturer headquartered in Houston, Texas. “It’s self-explanatory, the more you use it, the more it becomes second nature. We say that it’s like using a phone. You don’t have to go into the system. The system does it for you.”5
Ease of Use
The Prima Facie model from Safety Vision is about as easy to use as possible for a body-worn camera. One-touch recording makes the process virtually foolproof, and HD cameras make sure the final product is one on which law enforcement can capitalize.
The Vista body camera from WatchGuard Video, based in Allen, Texas, also features one-touch recording, along with rugged construction and automatic event linking between the body camera and the in-car video system. Easy-to-understand controls also contribute to the ease of use, with a backlit LCD display providing clear information on settings and status, including battery life.6
In addition to one-touch recording, Safety Vision’s Prima Facie offers pre-event recording, a buffer that automatically captures events that occurred a short time before a recording is manually activated.
“It really is all about the clarity of the recording, so it can be admissible evidence,” Marcos said. “You’re capturing all of the interactions, and you have automatic operations. It’s about never having to worry that it wasn’t on.”7
Pre-event recording is a common feature now, and it’s helping to account for the lag that can occur between an incident and the moment when an officer turns on his or her camera. The Body Vision XV from L3 Mobile-Vision, based in Rockaway, New Jersey, has this feature, along with belt and alligator clips for flexible mounting options.8
The new Focus X1 from Houston, Texas-based Coban Technologies takes ease of use to an even more automatic level. This body-worn camera model can be triggered by remote stimuli, such as the police light bar or the sound of sirens or even closing doors. The Focus X1 also offers low-light recording and a charging time that’s up to four times faster than that of competitors.9
Many of these features are also present in the body-worn camera designed by Pro-Vision Video Systems, a firm based in Byron Center, Michigan. As with the Prima Facie, simplicity is a priority, with one-touch recording, pre-event recording, and a 12-hour battery life all coming standard with the IP68.
“Police officers want to add less steps to their day,” said Sam Lehnert, marketing manager for Pro-Vision. “They want less equipment. Every move they make is critiqued. The last thing they want to do is think about operating another piece of equipment. We help them take steps away, rather than adding them in.”10
Battle Tested
As one of fastest-growing private manufacturers in the United States, according to Inc. magazine, Pro-Vision minds the details while still being about 50 percent more affordable, on average, than competitors. “We focus on being reliable, simple, and affordable,” Lehnert said.11
While factors like one-touch and pre-event recording are designed to maximize ease of use, there are more factors to consider when seeking out the right body-worn camera.
Affordability is particularly important, Lehnert said, because of tight agency budgets. And while grants from the federal government and other sources provide substantial funding, it is not enough for all agencies to receive grants. “Yes, there is grant money out there,” said Lehnert. “But it is limited.”12
The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Fiscal Year 2016 Body-Worn Camera Policy and Implementation Program provided $16 million to 106 state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies, as well as a $3 million supplemental award to continue support for body-worn camera training and technical assistance.13
“When backed by sound policies and procedures, body-worn camera use has the potential to heighten transparency, reduce complaints, and improve evidence collection, leading to safer neighborhoods and greater respect for the law,” said former U.S. Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch in a statement.14
Durability is almost as important as affordability. Each Pro-Vision product is subject to rigorous testing that ensures it can take whatever a demanding job has to dish out. The IP68 has a waterproof rating, ensuring it will stand up to the elements. “Whatever environment it goes through, it can handle it,” Lehnert said.15
Additional Factors
Covert settings also are important for protecting officer safety.
“[If there’s] a guy in the crowd pulling Molotov cocktails out of his truck, you can notify and put eyes on this guy without giving up your cover,” said Brad Medine, communication category director with Tactical Command Industries, a California-based brand of the Safariland Group that creates communications solutions for the law enforcement market.16
Once video is captured, storage and organization become important pieces of the puzzle as well. For users of the Prima Facie camera, the Prima View companion program makes it easy to keep, monitor, and search video files. Detailed history reports of user access and customizable evidence categories and case number designation also are basic features.
Safety Vision also is planning a new body-worn camera for release this fall. The next generation body-worn camera will provide seamless integration with the company’s HD in-car video system, wireless video downloading, and GPS tagging, among other features.17
As agencies consider different options and factor in budgetary constraints, current technologies in use, scenarios, and community-specific needs, body-worn camera manufacturers are watching the trends and continuously updating the technology to fulfill the increasing demands for these devices. ♦
Notes:
1Monica Anderson, Technology Device Ownership: 2015 (Washington, D.C.: Pew Research Center, 2015), http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/10/29/technology-device-ownership-2015.
2Anna-Lysa Gayle and Sam Ford, “Police Release Body Cam Video of Man Fatally Shot by Officer in DC on Christmas Day,” ABC WJLA, http://wjla.com/news/local/police-release-body-cam-video-of-man-fatally-shot-by-officer-in-dc-on-christmas-day.
3“DC Police Release Body-Cam Footage in Terrence Sterling Shooting,” CBS WUSA, September 27, 2016, http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/dc/dc-police-release-body-cam-footage-in-terrence-sterling-shooting/326906155.
4Wesley Lowery, “Charlotte Officer Did Not Activate Body Camera Until After Keith Scott Had Been Shot,” Washington Post, September 26, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/09/26/charlotte-officer-did-not-activate-body-camera-until-after-keith-scott-had-been-shot-2/?utm_term=.19ceb8d10e41; J. Weston Phippen, “The Trouble With Police Body Cameras,” The Atlantic, August 2, 2016, http://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2016/08/chicago-shooting/493997.
5Monica Marcos (marketing and sales specialist, Safety Vision, LLC), telephone interview, January 6, 2017.
6WatchGuard Video, “Vista HD Police Body Camera,” http://watchguardvideo.com/body-cameras/vista.
7Marcos, telephone interview, January 6, 2017.
8L3 Mobile-Vision, “Body Vision XV Body Camera,” http://www.mobile-vision.com/products/bodyvision-xv-body-camera.
9Coban Technologies, “Focus,” http://www.cobantech.com/www/focus.html.
10Sam Lehnert (marketing manager, Pro-Vision Video Systems), telephone interview, January 4, 2017.
11Ibid.
12Ibid.
13U.S. Department of Justice, “Department of Justice Awards Over $20 Million to Law Enforcement Body-Worn Camera Programs,” press release, September 26, 2016, https://ojp.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/2016/ojp09262016.pdf.
14Ibid.
15Lehnert, telephone interview, January 4, 2017.
16Brad Medine (communication category director, Tactical Command Industries), telephone interview, January 4, 2017.
17Marcos, telephone interview, January 6, 2017.
