Posted: 3/13/2013 6:25:50 AM EDT
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I have searched and found nothing in the last 30 days.
What is everyones take on body/uniform cameras? Does anyone here use them on patrol? Regards, K |
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Maybe try the Sony Action Cam ? $180-250
Or these? Small Body Cams Or this... Body Cam |
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Our PD just got everyone issued the TASER Axons. Policy is written, but evolving. The cameras can be linked to when the overheads are activated, and like the iCops, record the previous 30 seconds before activation. Much hilarity has ensued.
I am waiting for someone to get struck in the side of the head wearing those damn things. Our Sheriff is not keen on them, so far. Also, they like to fog up when coming in from the cold. One cool things guys have already figured out to do is told hold up IDs to the camera for a few seconds to capture the image. |
| Actually, if we had them it could have prevented a Civil RIghts violation claim that a few guys are going through. For those who still doubt this, one guy avoided being named because in a separate incident, he activated the "on" switch to his taser and recorded entire actions of the plantiff. |
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Like them or not, they are the inevitable in the future of LE. Just like the dash cams of the 80's and 90's, body worn cameras are catching on and will continue to see increased use in LE until they are common place in most agencies.
They are a digital witness, nothing else and nothing more. If you are prowling around out of your beat to fuck your girlfriend or sleep all night then GPS will catch you and get your fired. If you are rolling 120 mph to lunch break and having drift contests with your stupid buddies in walmart parking lots at night then the GPS will catch you and get you fired. If you are out rolling around all night looking for turds and working all night then GPS your GPS is just going to be ignored by the brass or will confirm their trust in you. The dash cameras that we have right now have GPS built in and record video in a 24 hr loop whether they're on and recording or not. There's rumors that they can view our feed live and covertly whenever they want but I don't believe this since our wireless modem's in our cars couldn't handle the data needed to transmit a video feed. I haven't seen anybody fired from the cameras yet and I'm not particularly afraid of them. I have was a very strong proponent of body cameras at my last agency and was responsible in a large part for getting them allowed department wide. I would like to see them allowed at my agency and would love to be able to wear one again since it saved me from many bogus complaints at my last agency, but I'm not going to stick my neck out again to make it happen. |
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They will get a lot of guys fired or disciplined if they are employed 100%. Think: FOIA. This is happening with our GPS and squad cams. Suspensions and at least one firing already. They're suspending guys who want to CYA? Whats the admins alternative? |
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They bought a few at my department. The first incident I'm aware of that was responded to was a domestic, in which they recorded the female victim's entire statement on it
They got it back to the office and downloaded the video, to find that the camera was focused in on her breasts the entire time. |
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They bought a few at my department. The first incident I'm aware of that was responded to was a domestic, in which they recorded the female victim's entire statement on it They got it back to the office and downloaded the video, to find that the camera was focused in on her breasts the entire time. 
You have me convinced, throw all the body cameras in the garbage! Seriously though, they're a tool and limited in their effectiveness by the operator using them. If you clip the camera chest level you will see chest level shots of your subjects. People not wanting cops noticing or videoing their cleavage shouldn't wear revealing blouses either. I ran a body cam for over a year and obtained a terabyte of video and to the best of my knowledge, never got any booby shots intentionally or otherwise. I have gotten some video of naked/crazy EDP guys running down the street and caught people screwing in cars, but even with that its usually night time and the camera and conditions wont give you anything scandalous and jerk worthy. Now AJE, if you think that those officers were intentionally trying to shoot video down the victims shirt, thats a separate issue entirely and not one that should be made against the camera but the officer. |
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my enviorment is a bit different(jail), as a supervisor with plenty of female deputies and literally hundereds of max security guys the amount of beating off is incredible.. I tell the females to to videotape the activities if they wish to press criminal charges. Having worked in the state prison system I can vouch criminals do not like to be on video if they are doing something criminal...
And, yes there are plenty of cameras that staff (me included) know nothing about in common areas. Avoids much of the "I was beaten for no reason BS".. stay safe |
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Quoted: They bought a few at my department. The first incident I'm aware of that was responded to was a domestic, in which they recorded the female victim's entire statement on it They got it back to the office and downloaded the video, to find that the camera was focused in on her breasts the entire time. Are they forehead mounted? |
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Its coming for us in current budget cycle, I'd say within 4 months. My agency T&E'd several models before they picked one, and I was required to wear one in FTO for a while. I had no issues with wearing it. In this job, you'd better do absolutely everything with the mindset that someone is recording/videoing you. Every cell phone has a camera and it will take no time to go to youtube and find literally tens of thousands of people who have gone out with a video camera purposefully looking to video cops and make them look stupid. You can fight the tech or embrace it, its coming either way.
Only issue I had with the model I wore, a Vievu I think(?), was that it flew off pretty quick in any decent fight and inevitably lands face down at which point it is no better than a pocket recorder or your in car audio. One thing I liked was the ability to hold the ID up to it, like was mentioned already, and also when you are filling out your crash forms back at the office hours later its easy to see model/color/damage rating if you forgot. Foot pursuits look like a blair witch remake. |
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We have T&E'd a number of wearable and dash cams, and went with a 5 camera in-car solution with a wearable microphone. As was stated earlier, it's a growing trend and will become more and more commonplace.
I have no issues with the concept of a wearable camera system, but I don't think the technology is 'there' yet. The Taser Axon Flex (magnetically attached to Oakley half/flak jacket) is better than previous generations, but they are prone to fall or get knocked off. What if you don't wear glasses, or if you remove sunglasses while indoors, etc..... Chest/carrier mounted cameras are more sturdy, but the field of view is less than optimal; often seeing the inside of the officer's arms if they are pointing a pistol, and they see what's in front of the body, not necessarily what the officers is looking at. In a few years the technology may make them more appealing, but I don't like any of then enough right now to justify approving them. We'll be T&E'ing the Taser Axon Flex during an advanced academy patrol week to see how it works in (simulated) real-world application. We'll see. |
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Quoted: snip... Our radios can be remotely activated by our control room to monitor conversation. Of course it will only be interested in using such a facility for officer safety.....The dash cameras that we have right now have GPS built in and record video in a 24 hr loop whether they're on and recording or not. There's rumors that they can view our feed live and covertly whenever they want but I don't believe this since our wireless modem's in our cars couldn't handle the data needed to transmit a video feed.  . With GPS data storage they can tell where we've been for the last 6 months...
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We have T&E'd a number of wearable and dash cams, and went with a 5 camera in-car solution with a wearable microphone. As was stated earlier, it's a growing trend and will become more and more commonplace. I have no issues with the concept of a wearable camera system, but I don't think the technology is 'there' yet. The Taser Axon Flex (magnetically attached to Oakley half/flak jacket) is better than previous generations, but they are prone to fall or get knocked off. What if you don't wear glasses, or if you remove sunglasses while indoors, etc..... Chest/carrier mounted cameras are more sturdy, but the field of view is less than optimal; often seeing the inside of the officer's arms if they are pointing a pistol, and they see what's in front of the body, not necessarily what the officers is looking at. In a few years the technology may make them more appealing, but I don't like any of then enough right now to justify approving them. We'll be T&E'ing the Taser Axon Flex during an advanced academy patrol week to see how it works in (simulated) real-world application. We'll see. We are also trying out the Axon Flex on a trial basis. I don't have a problem with cameras in general. I have a friend who was in IAD when the dash cams came out and they were able to dump about 90% of the complaints they received simply by checking the video. So, in theory, the body cams will be a good thing. The only problem is when perception exceeds reality. People often see a video and think "that's what happened" and don't look any further. The real issue is not what the camera captured but what the officer saw (with his wider field of view or if he was looking in a different direction than the camera) and what the officer perceived. Force Science Institute has done a lot of study on this and found that outside observers can fall into the trap going with what's on the video and ignoring everything else. Before going with something like this department wide there needs to be a lot of education on the limitations of video cameras. In some departments, those that have a negative attitude toward use of force, this might end up being a bad thing. |