"How The NYPD's New Body-Camera Program Will Work"

"The NYPD's pilot body-camera program is set to launch tomorrow (today) in three precincts across the city. Advocates of outfitting police officers with body cameras hope, among other things, that the devices will discourage officers from mistreating the public—and cause citizens to behave a little more politely toward cops, as well.... Cops have to turn body cameras on for them to work—though officers are supposed to turn them on during a number of specific scenarios, like when they stop a vehicle or arrest a suspect."

"The devices keep a record of every time someone accesses the file. The files are encrypted; even the camera company can't access them unless the NYPD grants permission. According to Vievu President Steve Lovell, the cameras include a feature called "Vidlock," which ensures that once a camera has been assigned to a server and database, video recorded on that device can only upload to that server and database. This means cops can't just hook their body cameras up to any old laptop with a USB cable and transfer files."

Video: Body cam refutes sexual assault claim against New Mexico officer...

WSJ: "What Happens When Police Officers Wear Body Cameras"

"Sometimes, like the moments leading up to when a police officer decides to shoot someone, transparency is an unalloyed good. And especially lately, technology has progressed to a point that it makes this kind of transparency not just possible, but routine."

So it is in Rialto, Calif., where an entire police force is wearing so-called body-mounted cameras, no bigger than pagers, that record everything that transpires between officers and citizens. In the first year after the cameras' introduction, the use of force by officers declined 60%, and citizen complaints against police fell 88%.

What happens when police wear cameras isn't simply that tamper-proof recording devices provide an objective record of an encounter—though some of the reduction in complaints is apparently because of citizens declining to contest video evidence of their behavior—but a modification of the psychology of everyone involved. (read more)