After reviewing how other police services were deploying headcam technology merely as recording devices, Scyron (Birmingham, UK) developed the DEMON BW Manager. In this model, the miniature camera mounted on a headband or a police officer's jacket, is connected to the BWV evidence system.
The Derbyshire Constabulary (Ripley, UK) had occasion to test this new equipment: Police officers starting shifts simply scan their ID cards with a handheld barcode scanner. At the end of their shift, the barcode is passed through the scanner again, and the video and audio footage recorded during their shift is downloaded via a memory-card reader into the computer system. From a drop-down menu, officers then decide which footage is evidentially relevant, burning the key information onto a DVD. The system then creates statements to accompany the video evidence. After the data is downloaded, the memory card can be reused.
"The technology is helping us enormously, enabling us to be more efficient in securing convictions as well as saving officers a huge amount of time," said sergeant David Stafford, "Whereas an arrest statement could take one to two hours to prepare, the video evidence and statement is prepared in around 10 minutes."
As Mike Wilks, Scyron's CEO, pointed out, "The issue is not the effectiveness of the cameras but how to handle the huge volume of video evidence efficiently and in accordance with evidential rules... [The] Derbyshire [Constabulary] has pioneered and automated all the important administration and back-office system. We believe this is creating a blueprint for police services across the world."
Related Links:
Scyron
Derbyshire Constabulary
