The next step in the development of body worn video

The very first use of body camera technology by police in England and Wales came nearly two decades ago. Back in 2005, a small trial in Devon and Cornwall Police saw officers equipped with cameras which were mounted onto police helmets.

In 2024, the technology is now far more advanced and widespread, having been rolled out across policing in the UK, as well as in other police forces around the world. It’s a real success story, one that’s transformed how officers collect evidence on the ground – there’s simply no going back to how things used to be.

Motorola Solutions, a company with decades of experience working with the police, is taking the next step in supporting policing’s use of body cameras. With the launch of its new LTE-enabled V500 body camera, it’s another tool in policing’s arsenal – for the benefit of the senior officers leading forces as well as those working on the frontline.

The V500 camera

As Stuart Boutell, Director of Evidence Product Management at Motorola Solutions, explains: “The new V500 camera adds mobile network connectivity to our body camera portfolio. It’s an evolution, quite a radical one, of the past 10 years of our experience in this area. It’s the fifth generation of this family of body cameras and the real difference is this addition of LTE.”

LTE stands for long-term evolution (“you’ll probably have noticed it in the top right corner of your mobile phone”) and essentially means that the V500 can connect directly to mobile networks. This creates some exciting new opportunities for policing: video can be live streamed directly from the V500 (more on this later) to control rooms, recordings taken in the field can be quickly uploaded without needing to return to base, and the location of cameras – and the officers wearing them – can be more accurately tracked.

This could even prevent the potential loss of police property. “It answers that crucial question: ‘Where’s our equipment?’ They’re valuable devices which hold potentially sensitive footage and they do, in emergency situations, sometimes come detached from officers.”

The product itself, Stuart adds, “was launched on the 28th November last year, and is available now, with the first shipments taking place in Q1 2024.” The V500’s existing launch customer is a major international police force, who will be the first to benefit from the product’s new functionality. A number of other police forces are currently in the field trial phase.

At its heart, the offer is more than just the V500 camera itself, it’s about a product that’s integrated into Motorola’s wider suite of software. “Our differentiator is that we have complete control over the entire environment – the devices, the back-end software and how we deliver our service – to meet the needs of our customers. LTE itself isn’t the solution; it’s only in combination with management software like ours that the benefits of body cameras can be fully realised.”

The potential of live streaming

Currently, live streaming of video footage is far from common in UK policing. In fact, according to Stuart, “It’s going to be some time before you see widespread adoption of live streaming within policing because you have to set everything up so somebody is there to watch the material. However, there are already some pilots in the UK and on the continent: adding LTE into the device does make it much easier. Live streaming can be delivered without any extra equipment when the V500 solution is in place.”

And the medium-term potential of live streaming is considerable. For example, it could provide obvious benefits in the context of public order policing. “Where you have a real-time control room using fixed camera footage CCTV etc. the V500 could be really helpful. Knowing you have a live view from the ground level to complement your fixed CCTV cameras will be very useful when dealing with planned events on the street. That’s where LTE is going to be a real win.”

“It’s about making judicious use of it. If every single officer starts a live stream, then that’s going to be an overwhelming number for the control room to handle. The video management is crucial and the tech has to help with that. If you can see on a map where all of your resources are and whether they’re streaming, you can then pick one or two to watch and get the context you need.”

In other situations, the ability to seamlessly access and share footage could also prove useful. “If an officer witnesses something that’s critically important, they might then need a still image from a scene of a potential suspect. With this technology, you can upload it and make it available without returning the body camera to its dock. The LTE component is adding this flexibility, whether around an easier live streaming experience or the possibility to perform high-priority footage offload out in the field.”

Safety on the frontline

This type of next-generation body camera tech can clearly contribute to the success of police operations. But, Stuart suggests, it’s about offering tangible benefits for frontline officers too.

“Video is key for better outcomes in public safety. It is about making sure frontline police officers (or anybody in a potential emergency situation) have their point of view captured properly. And then knowing that this material will be processed in a legitimate and proportionate way, in line with National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) guidance and what the public expect should happen with body camera footage.”

The V500 product can help to keep frontline officers safe. “Some of the real wins for LTE streaming are in cases where lone officers find themselves dealing with incidents where describing what’s going on would take too long. Live-streaming body cameras can give an effective and rapid indication to control rooms about the risk-level of a situation – using both the video footage and the audio.”

It could be used “for a call to assistance, where an officer finds themselves on their own and injured, in need of urgent support from the control room. Or simply in dealing with a situation that they’ve never faced before. This might be something where there isn’t a risk to the officer’s own safety, but instead it’s a medical emergency, where an officer might benefit from more informed assistance from the control room. Being able to actually call on an expert who can see what the officer sees could make a real difference to frontline staff.”

Verified video

There’s a public trust angle to the use of body camera video tools like the V500. “If the age of Al teaches us anything, it’s that being able to prove what’s true is the challenge of the decade.” This is important for policing, especially in an era where viral clips can lead to public protests and instantaneous criticism for the actions of individual officers – with incidents sometimes taken out of context.

“All of our V500 cameras sign and hash the footage they record, so that the public, judicial system and the police can have unwavering confidence in the veracity of those videos. Having a signed and trusted version of what occurred will become more important than ever, especially as Al evolves to make it easier and easier for people to produce faked videos which appear completely real.”

Having this verified account is something that should appeal to officers trying to do tough jobs in forces worldwide. “If you want to prove that you have been the professional that you are, then that V500 ‘witness on your chest’ can give that unbiased backing. The independent verification it offers is priceless.”

Learn more at www.motorolasolutions.com