Procurement Resource

Body-Worn Camera Site Spotlight: Park City, UT

Park City, Utah, is known for its beautiful alpine scenery, its magnificent skiing, and as host of the Sundance Film Festival, but it was also one of the first US jurisdictions to implement body worn cameras (BWCs). In 2013, the Park City Police Department (PCPD) decided BWCs might help its officers better serve their 8,000 full-time residents and the 100,000 tourists that descend on the city during peak season. They were right—after BWCs were deployed, uses of force dropped by 42 percent and complaints declined drastically. According to the city prosecutor, the courts also benefited.

Body-Worn Cameras in Community Supervision

Video technology has been an important public safety tool for decades. From the earliest closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems in correctional facilities to in-dash cameras in police vehicles, video technology has been used to deter criminal behavior, document encounters or behaviors of interest, and to investigate and solve crimes. The current iteration of video technology in public safety is body-worn cameras (BWC). The use of BWCs dates back to 2005 when small-scale tests were conducted in police departments in the United Kingdom (Goodall, 2007).

BWC Cost and Storage Estimator

Many BWC sites struggle with program cost issues. It can be difficult to estimate and forecast the ongoing costs of maintaining BWC programs, including equipment, infrastructure, storage, redaction, personnel, and other costs. In addition, sites may be unsure whether the potential savings from BWCs (e.g., through reduced investigations of complaints against officers, reduced investigations of use of force incidents, reduced civil litigation) might come close to or exceed the costs of BWC programs, producing net savings.

Grant Reporting Reminders

We frequently receive questions from BWC sites on when grant reporting requirements are due and who to contact with questions. To help address these questions, we have developed the attached resource. Please feel free to reference and share this resource as needed and please reach out to the BWC TTA team if you have any questions. The information in the chart refers to a BJA grant reporting requirement, not a CNA/TTA requirement.

To view the entire chart, click here.

Body-Worn Camera Training

The Center for Violence Prevention and Community Safety at Arizona State University (ASU) has developed this facilitator’s guide and accompanying training slides as a resource for law enforcement agencies seeking to develop or modify their body‐worn camera (BWC) training programs. These training materials should be used only as reference documents for agencies developing and deploying BWCs. They are intended to provide guidance and are not designed for yearly continuing training or academy use.

BWC TTA Training Spotlight

Implementing body-worn cameras in a police agency has an impact on virtually every key aspect of police operations, including training, investigations, community relations, resource allocation, and more. With the growing adoption of body-worn cameras, the need for effective law enforcement training is paramount to help ensure that officers have the necessary knowledge and tools to confront the difficult tasks they encounter on a daily basis. The following considerations and resources will serve as helpful information in support of this challenge.

BWCs: The Deterrence Spectrum

Police body-worn cameras (BWCs) are an increasingly prominent research area in criminal justice. This trend mirrors current practice, with more and more law enforcement agencies implementing or procuring BWCs. Yet the evidence on BWCs is substantially long on evidence but rather short on theory. Why should BWCs ‘work’ and under what conditions or on whom? This article offers a more robust theoretical composition for the causal mechanisms that can explain the efficacy of BWCs.

BWC Technical Guide

This document is an updated version of CAST’s Body-Worn Video Technical Guidance published in May 2014. It not only reflects the improvements in BWV technology, but is also influenced by the experience of UK police forces committed to large scale deployment of BWV devices and through consultation with industry. Not only is this guidance designed to assist police forces when procuring and deploying BWV devices, but also to enable industry in understanding the often unique technical functionality required by the police.

Generic Request for Proposals (RFP)

The Generic Request for Proposals is a document that serves as a guide for agencies wishing to obtain body worn cameras via a competitive process and using a Request for Proposals (RFP) mechanism.  The Generic RFP may be used to assist you in putting together your own RFP. It serves as a model for things to include. It is based on a number of existing RFPs from different agencies and upon the needs of agencies that seek to purchase body worn cameras.