The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ATLANTA — When Atlanta Public Schools police officer Meredith Littles reports for duty at Inman Middle School, she sports a new, high-tech tool snapped securely inside her dark uniform.
A smartphone-connected camera lens peeks out from a large button-size hole in the front of her shirt. She taps a gadget strapped to her wrist and an electronic voice announces the device is recording.
Police officers who walk school hallways now wear body cameras in seven of Georgia’s 10 largest districts, including Atlanta, Fulton and DeKalb, which began using them in recent months. Yet, the devices are controversial. Supporters say the cameras enhance public trust and provide valuable evidence in criminal cases, while detractors denounce them as a threat to student privacy and fear they’ll make students less likely to confide in officers.
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About Utility, Inc.
BodyWorn™ by Utility, Inc. is a vertically integrated U.S. manufacturer and supplier of software solutions, body-worn cameras, in-car cameras, mobile routers, mobile Digital Multi-Media Evidence management systems, and situational awareness software solutions for the law enforcement community.
With over 50,000 devices deployed, Utility has worked with many progressive first responders to incorporate industry best practices to help solve critical legal evidence capture and field situational awareness management challenges. Both the BodyWorn™ camera and the Rocket IoT™, singularly or in conjunction, utilize their unique communication capabilities to activate specific recording triggers that automatically initiate video recording. These triggers are set by the Department’s individual recording policies — including a built-in accelerometer, prone positioning, light bar sensors in concert with a door opening, rapid motion, GeoFence entry, etc. — and can be updated at any time via their video management system, AVaiL Web™.
The BodyWorn camera and the Rocket IoT system offer unique integration with real-time GPS reporting of officer and vehicle, an auto-related video for synchronized video playback, dockless evidence offload and more. Utility’s systems preserve the reputations of law enforcement departments and their officers, discourage frivolous litigation, support prosecution, and promote officer safety.