Allen, Texas — WatchGuard, Inc. (“WatchGuard”), the leading provider of mobile video solutions for law enforcement announced today its Body Camera-as-a-Service program, providing a pay-as-you-go option for law enforcement agencies looking to bypass the upfront camera costs of starting a bodyworn program and capture the budget predictability and all-inclusive nature of an as-a-service model.
“Law enforcement’s acceptance of body-worn cameras continues to grow, but the obstacles to starting a program remain the same,” said Steve Coffman, WatchGuard Video President and COO. “Despite federal and state grant funding initiatives, securing funding for a body camera program still remains a big hurdle for most agencies.”
Between 2015 and 2017, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), part of The DOJ’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP), provided more than $58 million to Body-Worn Camera (BWC) Pilot Implementation Programs in response to the immediate needs of local and tribal law enforcement organizations. Only 42 percent of all grant applications were awarded, supplying just over 52,000 of the nearly 105,000 body cameras requested.
In WatchGuard’s program, there’s no need for agencies to raise funds or secure grants to purchase cameras, evidence management software, data storage or on-going maintenance. Officers simply put the cameras on and pay as they go. The program makes use of WatchGuard’s VISTA® body-worn cameras, cloud-based EvidenceLibrary.com evidence management platform with unlimited HD video storage, unlimited users and unlimited video sharing, No-Fault Hardware Warranty and 24/7 Support Service.
Coffman added that the program is modeled after Software-as-a-Service offerings whereby the provider commits to delivering an expected experience and level of service to the customer for a fixed price. This should come as good news to agencies hesitating to start a body camera program, amidst recent stories of police departments dumping their programs due to the unexpectedly high cost of ongoing camera maintenance and video storage.
WatchGuard’s Body Camera-as-a-Service is immediately available to law enforcement agencies.
About WatchGuard
WatchGuard is the leading provider of mobile video solutions for law enforcement. Our products include in-car video systems and body-worn cameras along with evidence management software. Our solutions increase transparency and accountability, improve trust between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve, reduce agency liability and advance the judicial process. We have supplied our products to approximately one-third of all law enforcement agencies in the United States and Canada.