The aim of this document is to provide a practical understanding on the wide range of information that Body Worn Video (BWV) devices are able to capture and what safeguards can be implemented to avoid losing this data.
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The federal government is subsidizing dash-cams and body-cams for local police in response to high-publicized incidents of police misconduct. What does the footage really show? Should the public be able to see it all? We hear about the need for balance between privacy and so-called "transparency."
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Human eyes and camera lenses see, process, and recall information differently. It is important to understand the differences before using camera footage in use-of-force (UOF) or officer-involved shooting (OIS) investigations. The ramifications for not understanding the differences include inappropriate or unfair disciplinary actions, increased liability, and potential wrongful incarceration. Body cameras are the wave of the future in law enforcement and are already showing their many positive contributions. As with all new technologies, there will be growing pains and learning curves.
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There has been a dramatic increase in the criminal justice use of body worn cameras (BWCs) in the last few years. As a result of governmental and news media scrutiny of law enforcement interactions with the public, many think that BWCs have the potential benefit of increased legitimacy and accountability for both citizens and the law enforcement community. Since then, commercially available BWCs have flooded the market. There are now over 60 different body worn cameras produced specifically for law enforcement use. The National Institutes of Justice (NIJ) is interested in learning about existing BWC technologies and other considerations for integrating BWC into current systems. The purpose of this document is to report the results of a BWC market survey. Commercial BWC information is aggregated and summarized to aid law enforcement officers and public safety practitioners in the planning, acquisition, and implementation of this technology. This paper provides methodology for developing the market survey and results from the market survey.
A major issue with the use of BWCs is a lack of technical standards and operational standards for protocols and procedures. Without such standards in place, law enforcement practitioners lack adequate information to select the proper system that meets their requirements.
