Public Safety (2016-W35)

Kodiak, Alaska, Police Discontinue Use of Body Cams

Kodiak police chief Rhonda Wallace told the local City Council in mid-August she decided to discontinue the use of body cameras because of technical difficulties and privacy concerns.
The cameras were slow to begin recording from sleep mode; they were easily knocked off officers' uniforms; and a button that turns off sound could be inadvertently pressed, she said.
Wallace also said the cameras posed a risk to individual privacy rights.

Source: Kodiak, Alaska, Police Discontinue Use of Body Cams Citing Technical Difficulties, Privacy Concerns

A network of high-tech microphones designed to detect and locate shootings and quickly alert police in Jacksonville

Mayor Lenny Curry’s administration has been in talks with a California company, ShotSpotter, for more than a year about using its technology to help reduce gun violence.

ShotSpotter’s program relies on a network of microphones that it says can accurately detect and locate gunfire. Once a shot is detected, the company quickly reviews the sound to verify whether it’s gunfire and alerts local police.

Source: City looks at pilot program to monitor shootings

Automatic licence plate reader to nab illegal drivers

Ottawa police have a new set of eyes on the road -- one that can register 5,000 licence plates an hour.

Last week, police rolled out their first cruiser equipped with Automatic Licence Plate Recognition. The infrared camera mounted on top of the cruiser registers a license plate every second, feeds it into a database and then flags illegal drivers.

Source: Ottawa police use automatic licence plate reader to nab illegal drivers