DICKSON, TN- The Dickson Police Department recently ordered a total of 34 WOLFCOM VISION Police Body Cameras.
“We’re happy the Dickson Police Department chose body cameras by WOLFCOM for their patrol officers. Police officers need body cameras now more than ever. They need a 3rd eye to see and remember what they forgot and to be the truth behind false accusations when they need it the most”, said WOLFCOM founder Peter Austin Onruang.
Lt. Todd Christian helped his department research police body cameras and make the decision to choose the WOLFCOM VISION.
“We started looking at police body cameras about two years ago. We felt like “the writing was on the wall”; seeing news articles about body cameras and the way society was changing, we figured it would be good to get them for our department…We tested several police body cameras including Taser, Digital Ally, and ProVision…then I learned about WOLFCOM and we ordered one to test it,” said Christian. “With the other body cameras, we had difficulty figuring out how to use them… sometimes the officers would think they were turned off and they weren’t… You don’t have to read a manual to figure out how to use the WOLFCOM VISION. You can basically pick it up and start recording right away….It was easy to get the software and body cameras set up and running,” said Christian.
Lt. Christian said there were several features of the VISION that made it a good fit for their department. “It’s small and durable because of that aluminum casing. I already dropped mine and it works fine. I also liked that you can rotate the lens up and down so officers can adjust it based on their height. It picks up good audio and there’s easy to understand software. I also like that no one can access the camera without the software so it’s secure out of the box. We had our guys try to access the camera on their computers without the software and it won’t work, so it’s good that they’re secure. Our patrol officers like that the body cameras are lightweight and easy to operate. The video is perfect, even with the still pictures, the quality is very good and the storage data capacity is great,” said Christian.
Even though the department just deployed the cameras to their police officers, Christian said they have proved helpful already. ”During the testing phase, we had a few minor complaints made against our police officers from the public and thankfully we were testing the camera at the time and it was helpful in disproving those complaints, so we know it’s going to work. With a body camera, it’s just as effective and valuable a tool as your gun. When you need it, you need it. It’s the backup you need to prove the truth of what happened. We’ve had no negative feedback from our police officers about getting body cameras, they all say they’re glad we have them,” said Christian.
“Our body camera policy is that our police officers need to have it recording whenever they interact with the public. They don’t have to have it recording if they’re eating but they must have it available in case something happens. After testing several different mounting options, on the lapel, chest, and belt, we decided that everyone should wear it on their chest for the best view of public interaction,” said Christian.