According to media reports, the Daytona Beach Police Department is using the live-stream capability of the Axon Body 3 camera. The reports state that police supervisors now have the capability of viewing a live-stream of an officer's BWC whenever it is activated or when the officer draws their weapon. Some points made by the reporter and DBPD officer responsible for their body camera program: Officers often cannot get to their radios in chaotic situations Department needs the

A great two-day, Body-Worn Camera Records: Law Policy and Practice, course at Escambia County Sheriff's Office (FL). Thanks to ECSO for hosting the training and to all attendees from Pensacola Police Department, Okaloosa Sheriff's Office and Santa Rosa Sheriff's Office. Great discussions about how to efficiently manage public records requests under the guidelines of Florida Statutes. Inspect then Copy! Go to principisgroup.com/training-1 to bring this, or any other Principis

It took only 12 days for Hampden County DA, Anthony Gulluni, to officially rule that Officer Falcon's use of deadly force was lawful and that no criminal charges would be filed (see story). Another example of the value of BWCs in policing. But what is truly extraordinary is the timeliness of the investigation and the access given the public to the investigative materials (see ShareFile site) . A coupe of takeaways from watching the video: Policy should clearly state when BWCs

An interesting article in France 24 about a former Israeli army colonel who says his company will produce a BWC with real-time facial recognition capabilities. The article discusses both sides of this controversial technology. I was interviewed by Bloomberg magazine back in 2016 about the deployment of BWCs with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the future possibilities of the technology. I spoke about a future when real-time facial recognition could be a reali

I wouldn't be surprised if there is more to this situation in Oklahoma City than is being reported by the media. However, it is a nationally recognized "best practice" to write or revise body-worn camera policy in a cooperative effort with the affected police unions.

The New Jersey Assembly recently crafted, and unanimously passed, a bill authorizing police officers to review BWC footage prior to writing a report (see article). The bill contains language that allows for the viewing of video except when it is related to a complaint, any use of force, discharge of a firearm, in-custody death and specified internal affairs complaints. This strikes a fair balance between full access under any circumstances and no access under any circumstance

Anne Arundel County, Maryland, State's Attorney has created a "Body-Worn Camera Unit" within their office to handle the processing of BWC video submitted to them by police agencies. Kudos to Anne Arundel County and the State of Maryland for supporting and funding this initiative. Though costly, this concept should be considered by prosecutors' offices throughout the country and the legislative bodies that fund them. This arm of the criminal justice system was left out of fund

Resistance from police chiefs/sheriffs and their legal counsels to release BWC video following a controversial incident will undoubtedly result in the State of Virginia enacting laws forcing them to do so. We've already seen this happen in California and Colorado just to name a few. It's especially indefensible when other agencies in the state release more rapidly. Agencies had better have extraordinary rationale for not releasing, at least in part, the facts and BWC video pe

I encourage people to read the actual study and not form an opinion based on the article itself. Unfortunately, the casual reader probably won't do that and possibly come away with the wrong conclusions. The article, written by the authors of the study, gives the general impression that the conclusions of the study may be the same throughout the country. From the article: "Because body cameras produce an objective accounting of the interactions between police and citizens, th

Community engagement is a vital component of launching a successful police body-worn camera program. Seeking community feedback and "marketing" the implementation of the cameras provides many benefits for police-community relations. The Rockford (IL) Police Department is one of several departments across the country that have taken a unique approach to "marketing" their BWC program. Ensure you click on the associated story link in the main article.

Truleo launches its audio analytics platform. Read about it here. Analysis of body-worn camera (BWC) audio is not new. Several BWC solution providers, as well as other independent technology companies have, or are, working on this technology and have been doing so for a number of years. Audio analytics holds great promise for police departments looking to leverage the content of BWC recordings to manage agency risk. Video analytics is the next frontier. I am excited to see w

I am a huge proponent of Evidence-Based Policing and using research to support policing initiatives such as body-worn cameras(BWC). I am not a trained researcher but I have been exposed to enough studies to see their value to the police profession. I was involved, as the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department BWC Program Manager in 2014-15, in the largest randomized controlled trial study of its time conducted by CNA for the National Institute of Justice on the efficacy of

Every six months, D.C. police are required by law to tell city leaders how well the body camera program is working, problems encountered, internal investigation data, FOIA requests, and deployment numbers. The reasons why this report is required of the Metropolitan Police Department are unique to that agency. The concept of such a report, however, is not unreasonable. I could easily see similar report requirements becoming mandated by local governments for departments that ha

A great two-day Body-Worn Camera Records: Law Policy and Practice at Cañon City CO. Thanks to the Department for hosting the training and to all attendees. Great discussions about how to manage public records requests under the guidelines of CORA and CCJRA as well as the latest legislative amendments. Go to principisgroup.com/training-1 to bring this, or any other Principis Group course, to your agency.

An interesting and thoughtful comment on the potential efficacy of body-worn cameras at the Portland Police Bureau. Beyond the political and unique police-community relations in Portland, the editorial raises a number of valid questions. Ms. Avalos' writes about the challenges of working with the Bureau and City of Portland to craft polices and procedures for the cameras and also about the cost, accessibility, and application of the system. Ultimately, Ms. Avalos is correct.

Unless mandated by state law, agencies should be very careful when crafting body-worn camera policies that allow the deactivation of the camera in any location where there is a 4th Amendment expectation of privacy. Circumstances that allow for deactivation should be limited and clearly defined. Failure to do so places officers and agencies at risk. The public perception of any critical or controversial incident that is not recorded on an officer's body-worn camera is almost a

Agencies should be mindful of their policies on body-worn camera (BWC) activation during "administrative" periods. I do not know the facts about this incident and the purpose for commenting on it has nothing to do with the incident or officers involved. The question should be asked as to why a BWC was on during ,what appears to be, an "administrative" activity? It is a good policy practice to specifically state that officers shall not have their BWC activated (or even worn

Principis Group, Inc., specializes in providing law enforcement agencies with body-worn camera training and consulting services necessary to ensure operational success while minimizing risk. Every agency has unique needs and specific legal requirements regarding body-worn cameras. Principis Group helps agencies stay proactively ahead of risk by providing up-to-date training and affordable, scaled, consulting services tailored specifically to each agency. Discover how Principi

Could a comprehensive BWC video review program of this officer's previous work have provided behavioral or performance indicators to the agency so that they could have intervened prior to this event? Principis Group provides training that can help your agency establish a "compliance" and "auditing" program. Go to principisgroup.com or email dzehnder@principisgroup.com for more informatio

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) has taken an interesting approach to leverage BWC video for community outreach and operational transparency. More and more agencies are choosing, or are being directed, to release BWC video in a very timely manner after an officer involved shooting, in-custody death, or other critical/controversial incident. Agencies should consider doing the same with non-critical/non-controversial incidents that highlight the positive w