Derbyshire police headcam trial keeps officers on the beat

12 Feb 09

By Anthony Hildebrand

Derbyshire Constabulary is undertaking a new headcam trial that aims to provide a blueprint for the way police services manage next generation body worn video (BWV) technology.

The new BWV evidence management system, developed jointly with Scyron, the security and surveillance services company, is already helping to secure convictions, proving a major deterrent and reducing time spent by officers on paperwork by more than 30 per cent.

The trial uses new miniature camera technology mounted on a headband and/or police officer’s jacket. But also vital to its success is the level of automation and efficiency provided by the world’s first software-based administration and evidence management system for BWV.

An officer starting a shift simply scans their ID card with a handheld barcode scanner (similar to those found in supermarkets). This tells the system which officer has what BWV equipment and memory card.

Barcode scanner
At the end of the shift an officer again uses the barcode scanner and then downloads the video and audio footage via a memory card reader into the computer system. From a drop-down menu, the officer next decides if the footage is evidentially relevant.

A mouse click enables a DVD to be burned, which is automatically labelled with key information and printed with the Police Service’s crest. The system can then create a statement to accompany the video evidence.

The statement is pre-populated with the officer’s details (held on the system and identified by the ID barcode), the date and time their shift began, and when the footage was taken. All the officer has to do is enter some specific incident-related details.

“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 1-2 hours to prepare, the video evidence and statement is prepared in around 10 minutes.”

Automatically wiped
Once the data is downloaded the memory card can be automatically wiped clean for repeat use. The video and audio on the system is kept and automatically erased in accordance with Home Office evidence rules to comply with the management of police information. Also, the system is tamper-proof and records a full audit trail each time footage is accessed.

Scyron developed Demon Body Worn Video Manager in collaboration with Derbyshire Constabulary, after a review of how other police services were deploying similar headcam technology. The software runs on a Microsoft Windows operating system.

“We saw a huge opportunity to automate the process of gathering body worn video from crime scenes so that it virtually administers itself,” said Mike Wilks, Scyron’s CEO.

“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. While Devon and Cornwall Constabulary were trail-blazers in trialing head camera devices, Derbyshire has pioneered and automated the all important administration and back-office system. We believe this is creating a blueprint for police services across the world.”

More time on patrol
The headcam trial is focused on the Derby North police district which includes the city centre.

A total of 75 officers (including Police Community Support Officers) have been trained to use Demon Body Worn Video Manager, which has proved very popular, particularly in helping to secure convictions for “volume crime” such as assault, public disorder and domestic violence

“Whilst we cannot claim to put more officers on the streets with this technology, we can say that officers using it spend more time on patrol and less time writing statements,” said Graham McLaughlin, Chief Inspector, Derbyshire Constabulary.

An unforeseen benefit of using BWV is a reduction in complaints against officers. In the past, most complaints relate to alleged abusive or heavy-handed behaviour. Derbyshire Constabulary has not registered a single complaint against an officer wearing a BWV device.

The BBC featured a video explaining some of the benefits of the BWV units - click the link on the right to check it out.