Technology

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Options for Body-Worn Camera Placement: A Tool for Mount Locations

Several different mount configurations are available for body-worn cameras (BWCs). These mounts can be used with a wide variety of uniforms to hold the camera to officers' or deputies' shirts, patrol vests, hats, or jackets. The red dots on the uniform below correspond to different locations you may choose to mount your BWCs, with benefits and limitations of each location detailed in the following pages.

BWC Field Testing & Evaluation Form

The BWC TTA team has just released a new resource: BWC Field Testing & Evaluation Form. This resource will help agencies evaluate the performance and suitability of different models of body-worn cameras (BWCs). The Field Testing Form (an Excel workbook) includes multiple tabs for field testers to record ratings of different aspects of BWCs, across different brands. As agencies implementing BWCs may consider many different aspects, the Testing and Evaluation Resource should be adapted to meet your agency's needs.

Assessing the Utility of Body-Worn Cameras for Collegiate Police Agencies

Nearly all scholarship on body-worn cameras (BWCs) has focused on municipal police departments, as they comprise a majority of sworn agencies. Given the unique environment of collegiate law enforcement agencies, however, it is possible that their paths to BWCs—and the benefits and challenges they experience—vary from that of more traditional agencies. Using a survey of 126 collegiate police departments and in-depth interviews with 15 collegiate police executives, this study describes their goals, challenges, and benefits related to BWCs.

BWC and In-Car Video Considerations

Law enforcement agencies and community leaders recognize that body-worn cameras (BWCs) and in-car video systems can promote transparency, officer safety, agency development and reform, efficiency, and officer accountability. When considering acquiring BWCs or in-car video systems, or integrating the systems together, agencies must consider the unique capabilities of each. In this article, we briefly describe BWCs and in-car video systems, and then we discuss aspects of implementing BWCs, in-car video systems, or both.