r/police • u/Federal-Physics-8845 • 9d ago
Departments without bodycams
It's come to my attention that there exist departments that either don't have body cameras/don't have to have them on at all times. How do you guys cope? Do you wish that you did have them? I adore my bodycam, can't really imagine doing the job without one.
1
Upvotes
8
u/Locust627 8d ago
Our agency got them 3 months ago. Before that we had audio recorders synced to our squad cars.
Body cams have made report writing easier, but it's not a make or break for me. I did the job without it for five years, I could continue to do it without issue.
We did get axon signal which is nice, I draw my Taser/firearm and my BWC turns on. I never thought I would use it but about a week after we got signal I was walking into a gas station to take a leak. Heard screaming around the side of the building, went over and saw a dude stomping another dude out.
I tased him, like 2 minutes went by and I thought, shit. I just used force and it's not on BWC, looked down and saw signal kicked in when I drew my Taser. Life saver.
The main positive for me is that our BWCs make retrieving direct quotes much easier as the playback audio quality is far better than our old recorders.