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                            Library & Multimedia
 What You Need To Know About Body-Worn Cameras: A Primer
NCJ Number
              248658

Author(s)
          Ben Bolton
Date Published

December 2014
Length
              1 page
Annotation
              After reviewing the benefits of police body-worn cameras, this article discusses issues that must be addressed in the purchase and use of these cameras.
Abstract
              The police use of body-worn cameras in recent years has substantially reduced officer use-of-force incidents and the number of citizen complaints against police; and they have increased the number of guilty pleas and plea-bargaining agreements.  Police use of body-worn camers has also raised some issues that must be addressed in law and policy.  Foremost is that privacy issue.  Wiretap laws in some States prevent the audio recording of a police-citizen interaction without the consent of both parties.  Videotaping citizens in contexts in which they expect a reasonable degree of privacy may be a violation of these laws.  Another issue is the storage, management and accessibility of  videotapes from police body-worn cameras.  Also, because police body-worn camers have varying technological features, purchasers must decide on video resolution; file data recorded by the camera (dat/time stamp, officer ID, etc.); low-light settings; safeguards againt video editing and tampering; pre-event recording (usually 30 seconds); and battery life and performance.  Protocols must also be develop;ed regarding where that body-worn camera is to be placed on the officer and when and how officer’s will manage the body-wron camera.  The latter includes procedures for logging out cameras at the beginning of a shift, activating and using the cameras while on duty, and logging in cameras at the end of a shift.
      
  
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Date Published: December 1, 2014
    
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