Page 60 - Security Today, May 2017

Body Cameras
Eyes On You
By Greg Buckner
ThI
ject of body-worn cameras has arguably
become the biggest talking point.
But in an age where anyone can pull out a smartphone and record video that often doesn’t provide everything that happened, it’s vital for law enforcement agencies to have a video record of their own that can help tell
the full story.
With the use of body-worn cameras
growing by the day, a research report re- leased by Technavio in February projects the market to grow globally from $656.3 million in 2016 to $806.9 million in 2021. And since the public calls for more transpar- ency from law enforcement, implementing a body-worn camera program can help law enforcement agencies improve relations with the public while also protecting officers and helping them improve the way they protect and serve.1
In 2012, a study completed by the Univer- sity of Cambridge-Institute of Criminology in partnership with the police department in Rialto, Calif., examined whether body- worn cameras would impact the number of complaints against officers or on officers’ use of force. The study was carried out over a year period, and the department randomly assigned body-worn cameras to various of- ficers across 988 shifts.
One of the main takeaways from the study was the “self-aware effect” the cameras caused as a “neutral third eye.” The study suggests that neither officers nor the public want to “get caught engaging in socially undesirable behavior that may have costly consequences.”2
The body-worn camera works as an un- biased observer which helps to “cool down” both parties, and that is backed up by the sta- tistics the study produced.
The study found that there was a 60 per- cent reduction in officer use of force incidents after cameras were deployed, with the shifts without cameras having twice as many use of force incidents as shifts using cameras. In ad- dition, the study also found there was an 88 percent reduction in the number of citizen complaints from the year prior to camera de- ployment and the year following deployment.3
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GOVERNMENT SECURITY MAY 2017
e newest hot topic is all about the body
n the world of law enforcement, the sub-
Even more recently, the police department in San Diego, Calif., completed an internal nine-page report in February 2017 that re- ported since its officers began wearing body- worn cameras nearly three years ago, the de- partment has witnessed a 43.1 percent drop in officer misconduct allegations and a 16.4 percent drop in use of high-level force, such as physical takedowns and weapon discharge.4
The report also stated that of the 520,000 incidents San Diego officers responded to last year, just over 4,600—less than 1 per- cent—involved the use of force.4
Body-worn cameras also capture time- perishable intelligence at crime scenes that would otherwise have been lost. As part of a 2014 research report completed by the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) Com- munity Oriented Policing Services (COPS) regarding the body-worn camera program, Jason Parker, Chief of Police for Dalton, Georgia, described the benefits of utilizing body-worn cameras in regards to evidence
documentation, specifically regarding col- lecting evidence at accident scenes.
“Body-worn cameras capture everything that happens as officers travel around the scene and interview multiple people,” Parker said. “The body-worn cameras have been incredibly useful in accurately preserving information.”
Parker explained that officers are often focused on securing the scene and perform- ing life-saving measures, and that witnesses and victims may not always remember what they had told officers in the confusion. This can lead to conflicting reports when victims and witnesses are asked to repeat their ac- counts in later statements. With this infor- mation, body-worn cameras help to better capture evidence and document it.5
Add in the fact that many body-worn cameras now have pre-event recording ca- pabilities that capture video of events that happened prior to the manually activation of a recording, and that makes it even easier
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