Phoenixville >> You can add Phoenixville to the growing list of police departments looking into utilizing body-worn cameras.
Already equipped with mounted cameras on its police vehicles, the department said the use of body-worn cameras would help protect both the public and the officers.
Excessive force by police has dominated the headlines across the country. From places like Ferguson, Mo., to North Charleston, S.C., to New York City and now most recently in Baltimore, viral videos are showing police officers engaged in questionable use of force — sparking mass protests and even riots among outraged communities.
Phoenixville Police Chief William Mossman said typically those videos don’t show the full story, hence the need for body-worn cameras.
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“We’re always getting people’s cell phone cameras of our officers out there doing it,” he said. “And all the good stuff gets erased. You get the two seconds of the punch, or the knee, or the trip, or whatever it was and the 42 minutes of negotiating with the guy — that’s not part of it.”
When body-worn cameras were first introduced, the technology was looked at as a new tool to enable police departments to better show their side of the story if something bad were to happen, he said. In the borough, police vehicles have had cameras installed in them for years and officers wear a microphone to record their conversations with the public. The problem became what to do when an officer pulls up to a scene and all of the action takes place out of the camera’s view.
“You can hear what people are saying and you can hear what the officers are saying,” Mossman said. “All you’re looking at is what the camera is looking at … it doesn’t really give you a good idea of what’s going on.”
After Mossman attended a police conference and got a up close look at the different body cameras on the market, it really sparked his interest in adding them to the force, he said.
“Then of course there’s the Ferguson event and the New York City event,” he said, along with President Obama’s conference of police commissioners on the subject that helped convince him to consider it. “While that was going on, we decided we wanted to at least investigate the use of these cameras.”
Initially the department purchased eyeglass cameras to test first. The rationale being that the cameras would record what an officer could see at all times. Yet in order for police departments in Pennsylvania to use body cameras, the cameras have to be approved by the Pennsylvania Bulletin, a listing of standards put out by the Pennsylvania State Police.
“If it’s not in that Bulletin, we can’t use it,” Mossman said. “The glasses that we bought were not on the Bulletin.”
The department then looked into a box-style camera that’s worn on the chest, but they don’t show what an officer sees at all time.
The version Mossman said he’s excited to test is shaped like a pen that can hook to an officer’s lapel or to the ear piece of a pair of glasses. The camera uses a wire to connect to a recording device/battery shaped like a credit card. Each one requires a docking station, which will automatically download the video files and charge the device when it’s not being used, eliminating any human error factor.
“It’s (also) putting the camera back up higher where I kind of wanted it,” he said. “… It sounds really good and in about a week we’ll get it and start to test that.”
While finding the right camera is relatively easy, a big challenge will be storing the hours of data that the cameras will record. Sgt. Brian Marshall said Phoenixville will need at least five terabytes of storage to handle the load — something the current server can’t handle.
“That’s about $4,000,” he said. “That’s just for the storage.”
Mossman said finding the money to pay for this tech upgrade will be tricky.
Should the department decide to move forward, there’s a $2,700 grant that’s already been approved for the purchase of the cameras. The price, though, will definitely be a big selling point, considering there are 30 officers the department needs to equip, plus the storage upgrade.
“We were able to buy 30 pairs of the eyeglass cameras for the same price that we were able to buy six of the box style with,” he said. “So that’s huge. Can you buy 30 and equip the entire police department or can you only buy six and get one platoons worth?”
Mossman said by the end of the year he’ll know what the budget will be for next year and whether that includes money for cameras and storage.
“So that’s where we’re at right now,” he said. “We’re in the testing phase. We’re still creating policy (and) we’re working with our IT people to try to get a solid number.”
Already equipped with mounted cameras on its police vehicles, the department said the use of body-worn cameras would help protect both the public and the officers.
Excessive force by police has dominated the headlines across the country. From places like Ferguson, Mo., to North Charleston, S.C., to New York City and now most recently in Baltimore, viral videos are showing police officers engaged in questionable use of force — sparking mass protests and even riots among outraged communities.
Phoenixville Police Chief William Mossman said typically those videos don’t show the full story, hence the need for body-worn cameras.
Advertisement
“We’re always getting people’s cell phone cameras of our officers out there doing it,” he said. “And all the good stuff gets erased. You get the two seconds of the punch, or the knee, or the trip, or whatever it was and the 42 minutes of negotiating with the guy — that’s not part of it.”
When body-worn cameras were first introduced, the technology was looked at as a new tool to enable police departments to better show their side of the story if something bad were to happen, he said. In the borough, police vehicles have had cameras installed in them for years and officers wear a microphone to record their conversations with the public. The problem became what to do when an officer pulls up to a scene and all of the action takes place out of the camera’s view.
“You can hear what people are saying and you can hear what the officers are saying,” Mossman said. “All you’re looking at is what the camera is looking at … it doesn’t really give you a good idea of what’s going on.”
After Mossman attended a police conference and got a up close look at the different body cameras on the market, it really sparked his interest in adding them to the force, he said.
“Then of course there’s the Ferguson event and the New York City event,” he said, along with President Obama’s conference of police commissioners on the subject that helped convince him to consider it. “While that was going on, we decided we wanted to at least investigate the use of these cameras.”
Initially the department purchased eyeglass cameras to test first. The rationale being that the cameras would record what an officer could see at all times. Yet in order for police departments in Pennsylvania to use body cameras, the cameras have to be approved by the Pennsylvania Bulletin, a listing of standards put out by the Pennsylvania State Police.
“If it’s not in that Bulletin, we can’t use it,” Mossman said. “The glasses that we bought were not on the Bulletin.”
The department then looked into a box-style camera that’s worn on the chest, but they don’t show what an officer sees at all time.
The version Mossman said he’s excited to test is shaped like a pen that can hook to an officer’s lapel or to the ear piece of a pair of glasses. The camera uses a wire to connect to a recording device/battery shaped like a credit card. Each one requires a docking station, which will automatically download the video files and charge the device when it’s not being used, eliminating any human error factor.
“It’s (also) putting the camera back up higher where I kind of wanted it,” he said. “… It sounds really good and in about a week we’ll get it and start to test that.”
While finding the right camera is relatively easy, a big challenge will be storing the hours of data that the cameras will record. Sgt. Brian Marshall said Phoenixville will need at least five terabytes of storage to handle the load — something the current server can’t handle.
“That’s about $4,000,” he said. “That’s just for the storage.”
Mossman said finding the money to pay for this tech upgrade will be tricky.
Should the department decide to move forward, there’s a $2,700 grant that’s already been approved for the purchase of the cameras. The price, though, will definitely be a big selling point, considering there are 30 officers the department needs to equip, plus the storage upgrade.
“We were able to buy 30 pairs of the eyeglass cameras for the same price that we were able to buy six of the box style with,” he said. “So that’s huge. Can you buy 30 and equip the entire police department or can you only buy six and get one platoons worth?”
Mossman said by the end of the year he’ll know what the budget will be for next year and whether that includes money for cameras and storage.
“So that’s where we’re at right now,” he said. “We’re in the testing phase. We’re still creating policy (and) we’re working with our IT people to try to get a solid number.”
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