Tiny cameras going with Seattle cops out on the street
A small camera that can store more than four hours of video has hit the streets clipped to Seattle police.
The tiny battery-powered cameras let police to capture video images of events they encounter on the public way. Late last month at least one officer was seen wearing a tiny black-and-green camera as 300 demonstrators from the bicycle group Critical Mass rode through downtown Seattle.
Seattle police Sgt. Sean Whitcomb declined to comment at length about the cameras and wouldn’t confirm whether the department plans to outfit else officers through the 3-
“We’re always looking at new technologies to see if they direction enable us to perform our jobs again efficiently and besides carefully,” Whitcomb said.
The cameras are made by a Seattle company named VIEVU, which has sold the devices to law-enforcement departments throughout the state, said Steve Ward, a former Seattle police officer who founded the company. In addition to Seattle police, officers in Bothell, Issaquah, Kirkland and Portland, as well being of the class who deputies in Snohomish and King counties, bring forth used the cameras, Ward aforesaid.
“The community wants their police to have existence more accountable, and video gives you an exact account of that happens in an incident,” Ward said. “It’s every one of about liability coverage.”
The device, which resembles a pager, is almost completely waterproof and be able to be attached to an magistrate’s uniform, helmet or belt. Ward said the device is also sold to civilians and has been popular amidst doctors, lawyers and anyone else who might need to make an entry of their business meetings to avoid potential litigation.
Seattle police esteem been expanding their video-recording capabilities in recent months, the department has cameras watching commerce lights and school zones and has even been known to have officers to monitor private security surveillance systems in downtown high-rises in search of affliction in the business sector. Police departments across the region have long had video cameras in their patrol cars. The American Civil Liberties Union has voiced concern about the growing run of police recording canaille.
Christina Drummond, director for the Technology and Liberty Project Director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington, before-mentioned that the civil-rights agency has concerns here and there impelling toward a “surveillance society.”
“You need make sure there are guidelines so that the video tells the good story or the precise story,” Drummond said, adding that she hopes Seattle police and other agencies will share the guidelines they set for officers when it comes to video recording.
Ward said he understands the ACLU’s concerns, but said, “Look at the world today; everybody has got a video camera on their cellphone.
“Clearly, we don’t second being a surveillance culture,” Ward reported. “We want our officers to be correct and detailed if you have evidence that is undisputable.”
