Law Enforcement

To Everyone Vying for Body Cams on All Police Officers

There is something you desperately need to remember to demand and that is a proper policy defining when a police officer must turn on their body worn camera. A lot of people don’t realize that body cams are being introduced without actual policies saying when they have to be used. They’re not constantly recording like dash cams or security cameras – they are only turned on when the police officer decides to turn it on.

California Police Department Orders Digital Ally Body Cameras

Digital Ally has received an order from a municipal police department in the San Francisco Bay Area for 110 FirstVu HD body-worn camera systems. The order includes the company’s patented VuLink Connectivity Devices to allow the body cams to automatically start recording, and nine FirstVu HD docking stations, each of which will facilitate the simultaneous transmission of video from up to 12 FirstVu HD systems to Digital Ally’s new VuVault.Net cloud storage solution.

Tampa Police Solicit Vendor Bids for Body-Worn Cameras

The Tampa Police Department is taking bids to eventually equip all 750 officers with body-worn cameras like the one shown in the photo of a Minneapolis officer. Tampa PD is soliciting vendor bids to outfit 60 officers with body cameras, with a goal of eventually providing them to all 750 officers who patrol the city.

License Plate Readers Catch Serial Armed Robber

He has been a thorn in the side of several Metro Atlanta police agencies for nearly two years getting away with armed robberies at title pawn stores. But thanks to an alert Conyers Police Officer and new technology his reign of terror may be over. Officer Lucas said the Conyers robbery was one of the suspects thanks to Conyers police Officer Spencer Holland and the License Plate Readers, or LPR’s that were on the back of his patrol car.

Privacy Rights Group Opposing FBI?s Biometric Database Wins Court Ruling

A privacy rights group concerned about the implications of the FBI?s nationwide biometric database has won a lawsuit against the FBI for the legal costs that led to the disclosure of hundreds of pages detailing the FBI?s Next Generation Identification (NGI) database, which includes biometrics such as iris scans, palm prints, and facial recognition.

The HauteSpot MOBiLE Wireless Router

When most people think of a wireless mobile router, they think ?MiFi? which is a term coined by Verizon for their version of an 802.11 Access Point with Internet backhaul connectivity over a cellular data network like LTE, EVDO, or UMTS. This is fine if the objective of your router is to only do one thing: connect to the Internet and let others share that connection using 802.11 WiFi. This is only one narrow application.

RADWIN Wireless Video Surveillance Solutions Secure Border of Texas & Mexico

Every year tens of thousands of illegal crossing attempts are made over the border from& Mexico to the U.S (e.g. immigration, drugs, and human trafficking). Mahwah, NJ-based RADWIN, a provider of sub-6GHz broadband wireless solutions, has announced that its RADWIN 5000 Point-to-Multipoint systems were chosen by the local Port Authority in Texas& to help secure ports-of-entry into the United States.

Kastle Systems, DC Real Estate Leaders, and Washington Met Police Department Launch Capital Shield

Kastle Systems, Washington, DC’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and prominent Washington area real estate firms launched Capital Shield, a partnership that allows MPD direct access to an interconnected network of private security cameras, floor plans, and other critical information in business locations across the city. Enabling MPD with direct access to a large new pool of video cameras and building information in times of crisis allows first responders to quickly gain the situational awareness required for responding to serious threats.

City Police Trying to Expand Eyes on Streets With New Program

City police are trying to expand their eyes on the streets. They’ve started a new program encouraging business owners and homeowners to register their surveillance cameras with the city. That way if a crime is committed in the area, police will know who might have potential evidence.

NYPD Equips Officers With Biometric Smartphones

New York Police Department officers and vehicles are to be outfitted with new technology as part of a $160 million program that will lead to fewer arrests and more summonses after being fully implemented next year, Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters on Oct. 23. All 35,000 NYPD officers will be equipped with smartphones that allow officers to search databases, view wanted posters, and scan suspects’ fingerprints.

Are Taxpayer Funded Security Cameras in Downtown Columbia Effective?

After a weekend shooting in downtown Columbia, MO, ABC 17 News reached out to the Columbia Police Department to see if any parts of the incident had been caught on any of the security cameras downtown. The question was never answered. ABC 17 News also asked for a report showing numbers of how many crimes the cameras have helped solve to see if the taxpayer funded security system is effective.

Body Cameras for Cleveland Police on Council Finance Committee Agenda

Body cameras, like the ones shown on police officers in Ferguson, Mo., will likely appear on officers in Cleveland by early next year. (Huy Mach, St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP) Cleveland City Council is expected to pass legislation authorizing the Police Department to spend $1.6 million to equip about 1,000 patrol officers with body cameras. Some council members have been calling for the cameras for years, arguing that the footage would aid criminal investigations and clear up controversy surrounding police shootings and accusations of misconduct.

Digital Ally to Introduce Glasses Camera Option for FirstVu HD Body Cam at IACP Conference

Digital Ally, Inc. announced that it will introduce a ?bullet camera? option for its FirstVu HD™ Officer-Worn Video System at the upcoming International Association of Chiefs of Police (?IACP?) Conference, which is scheduled for October 25-28, 2014 in Orlando, Florida.

Rohnert Park CA PD Adds Video Registry to Crime Fighting Toolkit

Rohnert Park, CA, police are encouraging anyone with a security camera to join a new registry. Restaurant owner Isidro Velasco told ABC7 News the best investment he ever made was four security cameras that watch over his restaurant. The database in back of his restaurant records everything the camera sees. The cameras have come in handy when stuff behind the bar went missing. Valasco said he supports a plan by Rohnert Park police for a registry of security cameras to help them fight crime faster.

On the Anniversary of 9/11, NYC Looks at New Threats Complicating Terror Fighting

On the eve of the anniversary of the terror attacks by Al Qaeda that left so many Americans in despair and confusion, there are additional terror threats being pursued by the president, the NYPD commissioner and other security professionals working for New York?s safety. Ironically, some of those threats almost make 9/11 seem like a simpler time, from a law enforcement perspective.

Chicago to Settle Police Abuse Lawsuit for $150,000

Surveillance video caught a cop abusing a handcuffed woman during a raid. – Last year, security camera footage caught a police officer slapping and verbally abusing a handcuffed, kneeling woman during the raid of a Chicago tanning salon. This week, the Chicago City Council Finance Committee approved a $150,000 settlement of a lawsuit filed by the woman against the Chicago Police Department.

San Jose Police Can Tap Into Volunteer Residents? Cameras Under Newly-Approved Program

San Jose, CA, Police will be able to quickly view footage from volunteer residents’ private security cameras under a new program designed to increase the eyes and ears of San Jose’s depleted police force. The San Jose City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to create a police department database of all private security cameras owned by residents and businesses willing to participate, starting as soon as next month. Police will not be able to view live feeds from the cameras, but a map of nearby cameras will allow detectives to know if a crime was likely to have been caught on tape.

NYPD Officers in Fresh Assault Claims: ?They Were Taking Turns Like a Gang?

The New York police department is facing renewed questions over the conduct of its personnel after a man alleged he was viciously assaulted without provocation by a group of uniformed officers. Santiago Hernandez, 23, claims that he was kicked, punched, and zapped with pepper spray by up to six officers on 157th Street in the Bronx on 18 August. A video of his arrest captured by a nearby security camera and published by the local TV channel ABC 7 shows the police initially frisking him, then handcuffing him, and finally piling on top of Hernandez as he lay on the sidewalk while apparently hitting him with batons.

City?s Camera Systems Help Police Keep Us Safe [Commentary]

[By Det. Robert Onishi, Renton Police Department] On July 2, a Renton resident who had parked his pickup truck at the Henry Moses Aquatic Center discovered that it had been stolen. He contacted the Renton police and an officer responded and took a report of the theft. This kind of personal violation happens throughout King County every year and as the Renton Police Detective handling auto thefts, I see how traumatic it is to these victims. Fortunately, the City of Renton has taken proactive measures to help deter auto thefts and other crimes and to help catch criminals who victimize the public.