One major problem facing law enforcement officers today is the use of body cams and dash cams in the course of duty. While what these cameras are capable of capturing has been in the news a lot since the development of the body cam, there is another side to the story that doesn’t get quite as much coverage. The amount of information this camera doesn’t catch. But, what about the dash cam? Doesn’t it capture footage as well?
Two Cameras Working Together
The reality is that yes both the body cam and the dash cam do indeed capture video, they are doing so individually in a totally uncoordinated way. What if you could find a way to make the most use of these cameras to capture images from a number of vantage points. What if you could make it possible for all of the cameras, both body, and dash to be turned on and start recording at the exact same timed?
It is far too easy for one or more officers to forget to hit the record button in the event of a major incident. Doing this could lead to a lack of video evidence that could prove to be vital evidence in a future investigation. It could be the difference between being able to prove who is at fault and someone walking out of court Scot-free.
But, if it were possible for any single officer on the scene to turn on all nearby cameras at the same time, wouldn’t that make a huge difference? Not only would this provide law enforcement officers multiple recordings of the incident, these videos would be from a wide variety of angles.
New Software Making It Easier
New technology and software from companies like WatchGuard make it possible for all the videos from a particular incident to be instantly uploaded to a central database. Once stored here, the files can easily be accessed in the event they are needed as evidence. For example, in a case where there is a question as to whether a gun was involved, while a single video may not show it when there are several videos all taken from different angles, the weapon is far more likely to be seen in at least one of them.
From routine traffic stops to armed suspect encounters, the use of technology such as this can not only help prosecute the guilty, protect the innocent, and allow the judicial system and law enforcement officers do their jobs. While there is no doubt that being in law enforcement today is as challenging as it has ever been, technology like this goes a long way towards helping to protect the innocent and ensure the guilty are punished.
This type of technology will also go a long way towards making the use of both body and dash cams more acceptable in the eye of the public as it helps to reduce the level of crime and police brutality this country has been experiencing over the last few years.