The use of police body cameras is widely accepted and encouraged by most of the population in the United States. But a recent event might just hurt that acceptance rate. Users of the Vievu LE-5 seem to be at risk after one unit burst into flames in New York City. All Staten Island officers assigned to body cameras of the same model were told to turn in their devices, as the department fears for the safety of their members. That means 2,990 officers aren’t wearing body-worn cameras anymore. That measure delays NYPD’s plans of equipping all 23,000 officers with such devices.

Law enforcement agencies have adopted the use of body cameras a long time ago. But, lately, a global awakening has been happening. Professionals from many other lines of work started to realize the importance of these devices. A vast list of other occupations require close attention and revision of facts for quality or security purposes. That’s why body camera manufacturers have, lately, been getting inquiries from non-law enforcement professionals. Unfortunately, many of these companies haven’t yet realized the opportunities this new market presents and still produce body cameras exclusively for law enforcement.

Artificial Intelligence is a highly-advanced technology that generates a lot of buzz around anything it touches. And it couldn’t be any different with police body cameras. Some of the major police camera manufacturers have started investing artificial intelligence for body cameras in an attempt to facilitate police work. But some people have a different perspective on the matter.

As the market for police body cameras grows globally at an exponential rate, manufacturers have to work extra hard and reduce costs to keep up with the high demand. In most cases, that means using cheaper components and having less strict quality control. Seeing as about 99% of all police body cameras in the world are manufacturers in China, all the components in those body cameras are also made in China, and that’s not a good thing.

Wanting to try out newly released technology is ingrained in human nature. But this practice can come with some high risks, especially when these new gadgets are tools used by police officers. In the past years, many Bluetooth and WiFi-enabled body cameras have been released. The problem with that is now many police departments think that’s an absolutely necessary feature. While having cameras that connect wirelessly to computers and other devices makes officers’ lives easier, it also opens new doors for security flaws, as hackers can easily infiltrate wireless-enable police body cameras to tamper with evidence.

The amount of police body camera manufacturers currently in the market is overwhelming. That means law enforcement agencies have too many options to choose from when shopping for body cameras. But that doesn’t mean most of them are high-quality products. Some manufacturers seem to not have a comprehensive understanding of their customers’ needs. Thus, failing to develop some key features their products should have. Mounting on the body is one of the biggest issues police body camera manufacturers face, and most of them don’t seem to be trying to fix it or still haven’t found a way.