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The Motorola Mobile Video Enforcer: Capture, Collect, ConveyBy Eric O'Connor |
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“The Motorola Mobile Video Enforcer (MVE) with Digital Video Management System (DVMS)”. If this statement sounds intimidating, that’s okay! The purpose of this article is to give you a little information on this powerful tool and to talk about why every police department should have one.
To begin, I’ll give you a brief description of two in car camera systems and after you read them both, decide which one you’d prefer:
System 1: It’s night and some careless driver has just run a stop sign. Our in-car officer has turned on the recording device and from this moment on, he’ll capture everything that happens until the suspect has been properly reprimanded and punished. The officer hits the lights and the offending car pulls over.
The officer can see things just fine as he approaches the car, but the view from the camera shows that there’s a bit of glare over the license plate. The picture is also a bit grainy and offers a somewhat limited view. As the scene plays out, it’s hard to tell what the officer and the suspect are saying throughout the video. The driver insists that he did in fact stop and the officer is picking on him due to his race.
OR...
System 2: It’s night and some careless driver has just run a stop sign. Our in car officer hits her lights and the camera begins recording automatically. In addition to this, the 45 seconds before the officer turned on her lights are automatically recorded. This actually captures the suspect running the stop sign.
The officer can see things just fine as she approaches the car. She also knows the view from her in-vehicle camera will show the surroundings just as she sees them. There’s a bit of glare over the license plate. As the officer is walking up to the offending vehicle the camera automatically zooms in on the plate and removes the glare, recording the image of the plate. The camera then pans back and clearly shows the vehicle, the color, make, and model of the car, and both the officer and the vehicle’s surroundings.
The officer is also wearing a wireless mic, which is recording every word spoken between her and the suspect. The suspect tries to make the claim that the officer is discriminating against him. However, the officer informs the suspect that she has a video of him running the stop sign and even offers to show him the video. The video can then be burned onto a CD and used as evidence in court. The infraction is settled on the spot.
Given these two scenarios, if you would rather be equipped with system 2, the Mobile Video Enforcer is perfect for you. The first system describes a typical VHS recording system. As you can see, a digital system offers a lot of advantages over traditional VHS.
For starters, the picture from the digital video enforcer is DVD quality which means you’ll be seeing 400% more information. Compared to VHS systems, the clarity and width of picture is unmatched. This statement actually comes from a real officer, Sgt. Gibson, of the Wilmington North Carolina Police. It’s also automatic. The system can be programmed to record when a number of events occur, such as an officer turning on their light bar.
Aside from this, do I need to get into the comparisons between storing bulky VHS tapes and storing flat DVDs? Or should I talk about how you can free up the trunk space you’ve lost due to a VHS system? These reasons are terrific, but these aren’t the reasons why you should consider the Motorola MVE.
The main reason is for protection; protection for officers, protection for civilians. The images captured on the MVE are as close to real life as one could possibly get. Since the images are of such high quality, the effectiveness of the video increases. As a result, fewer claims against officers are made by offenders because the evidence is irrefutable. Audio is crisp and clear and in most instances, the pre-event recording captures the infraction on record. Officers can also use the videos to review their routine procedures and increase their overall effectiveness and safety.
As you have probably begun to see, the MVE is exactly as I stated it earlier; a very powerful tool. The fact that 96.2% of officers surveyed stated that the recordings actually exonerated them against suits filed against them should compel your department to seek more information about the MVE. It’s unfortunate, but some Police Departments lose tens of thousands of dollars per year due to lawsuits filed against officers. Now, you have a proven and effective way to combat this. An officer doesn’t have to worry about being sued for simply doing his or her job.
There is a lot more information available on the MVE. I’ve shown you the basics. Now, it’s up to you to find a Motorola Manufacturer’s Representative, such as myself, and have them explain to you in greater detail the benefits of such a system. The number of improvements over traditional recording devices alone is enough to make the system worth it. However, the fact that having such a device will protect your officers makes this system worth every penny. Think about it! |
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About the Author |
| Eric O'Connor is a communications specialist for Delmarva Communications. He has also recently become the Manufacturer's Representative for the Motorola MVE. For more information on the MVE or communications in general, visit Delmarva on the web by clicking here |
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