Police Department Debuts Body Cameras on Officers
- By Ginger Hill
- Sep 05, 2014
The largest police force in the United States has decided to outfit their officers with two types of body cameras. Debuting on 60 New York City Police Department officers, working in six of NY’s most violent neighborhoods, are the Vievu and the Taser.
The Vievu is a clip-on camera that is shaped similar to a pager and is worn on the front of an officer’s shirt. It is designed to begin recording when the officer slides the shutter on the camera lens. The Taser is worn on the ear, glasses, collar or shoulder and continuously records video in 30-second segments, but without audio.
There has been controversy over NY’s “Stop and Frisk” policies that allow officers to routinely stop, question and pat down civilians who are acting suspicious. However, civil rights groups are challenging this policy in court, claiming that not all the civilians subjected to the “Stop and Frisk” procedures are committing or have committed any crime(s).
New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton approved the use of these cameras, hoping to de-escalate confrontations between citizens and police. I can also see how these body cameras can help officers to document unsafe situations to be used in a court of law as evidence.
(Image Credit on Homepage Slide Show: a katz / Shutterstock.com)
About the Author
Ginger Hill is Group Social Media Manager.