IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2014 - 31

leading edge

RiCHaRd KaY

Technology and Operational
Safety-Pros and Cons
for Police Officers

T

he point of view (POV) camera is a compact
portable device carried by police officers
that captures video/audio records of operational situations. However, this technology
may create serious repercussions in post-incident
investigations, if the differences between human and
camera perception are not understood. In addition,
POV cameras pose specific issues for officer safety.
Data integrity is a crucial issue for the legal process
after the fact, as well as for reviewers understanding
how to interpret the data correctly in the context of the
original situation.

Technological Advances and Public Safety
Modern advances in technology provide numerous
options for public safety agencies to increase operational efficiency, such as the officer-mounted POV
camera, which is a tactical networkable computer
combining advanced audio-video record/capture
capabilities. POV cameras contribute to officer efficiency by reducing report documentation workload
while increasing accuracy and accountability.
However, the POV camera may raise false expectations that could have serious repercussions in useof-force investigations. The camera is perceived
as a "third eye" that reliably captures the wearer's
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MTS.2014.2319932
Date of publication: 4 June 2014

IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE

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SuMMEr 2014

perspective, but there are important differences in
how humans and cameras process information, and
no camera records events exactly as the officer perceives the event.
In most cases, POV cameras will assist in reconstructing what an officer faced on the street, help
refresh an officer's memory so they can give a fuller
account, and help reviewers better understand an
officer or suspect's actions. In some cases, there may
be differences between officer memory and camera
recording, the officer may have no recollection of
key situational elements, or there may be discrepancies that seem inexplicable or controversial. If the
differences between human and camera perception
are not understood, the video could end up confusing and misleading officers, reviewers, and the public. The rationale is that, even with a POV camera
theoretically recording from the officer's perspective,
differences in information processing will prevent a
recording exactly matching what an officer perceives
during a confrontation. Fundamentally, these differences have to do with field of view, focus of attention,
and interpretation.

Selective Perception
A common misconception is "a video of an event
tells the whole story." A camera records action from
a perspective that's very limiting in its ability to tell
the full story. In a video recording, some action may
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