“Big Brother-esque” Camera Aims To Give Cops Fair Chance

POLITICS

» by Jordan C. Alston December 31, 2009, 10:27am

Police brutality took a turn for the worst this in 2009, with cases seemingly coming out of the proverbial wood work at every turn.

Citizen vigilance was taken to another level, thanks largely to the rise of camera phones; still, more measures are needed to make sure that those assigned to protect and serve remain faire and balanced in their duty to the people.

Enter TASER International Incorporated, maker of the much loved and dually hated TASER stun gun, to once again offer what they feel is needed to have effective law enforcement.

The company created the AXON head camera, a mobile recording device meant to be worn around the head of an officer, allowing them to capture footage of every potential incident from their vantage point.

TASER Inc. feels that their newest offering will allow officers that are falsely accused of wrongdoing to have a fair chance to clear their name while helping to catch other officers in their wrongdoing. It is also the hope of AXON's creators that police department will require the camera unit be switched on before any action is taken.

All footage collected during the day is downloaded to an offsite server when officers charge their camera for the day.

So far, only San Jose PD is using the device, with 18 of its 1,300 officers trained and equipped with AXON camera units.

A three-year contract for the system for one officer that includes software and video storage costs $5,700.

Comment Comments 0 Tags Tags: , , ,