Policing in the 21st Century saw major advances in technology and operational efficiency and an increased focus on accountability. Citizens play a huge role in the equation as critical first communicators at crime and accident scenes. The perspective of the law enforcement officer (LEO) is equally vital. And today, that perspective is frequently, and increasingly, captured by using body-worn cameras (BWCs).

This IBM® Redpaper™ publication aims to identify the key technical areas to address when a police agency deploys BWCs. However, rather than focus on the camera itself, we describe a powerful IBM platform that provides an end-to-end solution to help police agencies manage their BWC programs, save money, and adhere to the growing list of rules that govern the use of BWCs.

The end-to-end IBM solution includes these critical functions:

• A single content management/video repository that supports digital evidence from multiple video sources and BWC technologies (IBM FileNet Content Manager with a video library tool)
• Records management software to apply rules for handling and retaining video (IBM Enterprise Records)
• Video analytics and redaction capabilities (IBM Intelligent Video Analytics)
• Storage options for the captured video, possibly including on-premises storage (IBM Elastic Storage™ Server and optionally, the IBM Linear Tape File System™ for direct access or archiving)

The paper focuses on BWCs that are used by law enforcement agencies. Yet, the discussion is also applicable to BWCs that are worn by first responders, the military, corporate security personnel, and others.

Introduction

Background and current landscape

BWC lifecycle

IBM solution overview

Anticipated future developments for BWC programs

Next steps

How IBM can help

Resources