Body-Worn Cameras: Life or Death

The more video becomes available, the more real life situations enter the courtroom. Not to mention, the quality of body-worn cameras is improving to the point that video forensic enhancement is not necessary.

VIEVU Camera

BODY WORN CAMERA RECORDS MURDER

For example, a department-issued body-worn camera recently captured events leading up to an officer’s murder in Flagstaff, Arizona. If the suspect hadn’t gone on to commit suicide, he could have stood trial to claim innonence in the incident. In this case, the video would save thousands of dollars that would have been spent investigating the officer’s death.

PRIMEAU FORENSICS TESTS BODY WORN CAMERAS

Primeau Forensics recently worked with VIEVU, a manufacturer based out of Seattle, Washington, to help in the research and development of their body-worn cameras. VIEVU sells its cameras to more than 4,000 police agencies in 16 countries. Our team helped them test the field of view (FOV) for their cameras. Additionally, we researched the various FOV options to learn the optimal lens degree in field situations.

APPROVED FUNDING FOR POLICE DEPARTMENTS

President Obama recently proposed a bill to provide police department for the purchase of body-worn cameras. The proposal includes $75 million to help pay for 50,000 of the lapel-mounted cameras, with state and local governments paying half the cost. This proposal came shortly after the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, Missouri. What is more, this is a crucial development in forensic video. These cameras help litigators learn more about a series of events that occurred, a reality that excites video forensic experts like ourselves. Most importantly, this has the ability to save our judicial system money and ensure a correct decision in a person’s guilt or innocence.

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