BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, Wash. -- Bainbridge Island residents have a better-equipped police department these days -- they're equipped for recording.
Five officers are now wearing small cameras, about the size of smart-phone. Officers wear them at chest-height and can activate them with a simple flick of a switch.
Commander Sue Shulz said so far her officers like the new tool. She hopes the people the department serves will understand that the video can help officers do their job as well as benefit the public when there's a question about behavior.
"It protects the citizens," said Shulz. "Because if a citizen has a bad experience with an officer, the is going to be video to back up that claim. We hope each officer gets a camera by the end of this year."
The Seattle company where the cameras and software were developed is called VIE/VU. Steve Ward founded the company after nearly 15 years on the Seattle police force. He sees this as a huge growth industry.
"Within a year to three years, every officer in the country is going to have some kind of recording device on them," said Ward.
About 700 departments around the country are using VIE/VU's technology and there are thousands of units bin operation in the U.K., according to Ward.
Bainbridge residents said they are getting used to the idea that any interaction with the police could end up on camera. Officers still have discretion about when and whether to turn on the cameras but once the cameras are rolling they’re supposed to stay on until the contact with a citizen ends.
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