Beyond the Camera: The Infrastructure Behind a Professional Body-Worn Video System

When organisations first consider body-worn video, attention naturally focuses on the camera.

Recording quality, battery life, durability, size and connectivity are all important considerations.

But the camera is only the visible part of a much larger system.

As deployments grow across teams, sites or entire organisations, questions quickly move beyond the device itself.

How are cameras allocated? How is footage uploaded? Where is it stored? Who can access it? How can a specific recording be found later? And how is activity surrounding that footage recorded?

For organisations planning professional body-worn video deployments, the infrastructure surrounding the camera can be just as important as the camera itself.

Think beyond individual devices

Managing a handful of cameras and managing a large operational deployment are very different challenges.

As the number of users and recordings increases, organisations need consistent processes surrounding both the devices and the information they generate.

This starts before a recording is even made.

Pinnacle Response DEMS supports device management processes where a user ID and camera serial number can be used to assign a camera. When the camera is returned, footage can then be uploaded into the evidence-management environment.

Creating this link between device, user and footage can become increasingly important as deployments scale.

Uploading footage efficiently

Recording video is only useful if organisations have an effective way of moving it from the camera into the systems where it can be managed.

Different operational environments may require different approaches.

Pinnacle Response's current body-worn camera range supports direct Wi-Fi upload, while multi-unit USB upload is also available across the range.

The PR8 extends these options further with 4G upload capability.

Rather than considering uploading as an afterthought, organisations should consider how cameras will fit into everyday working practices.

Where will cameras be returned? How frequently will footage need to be available? How many devices might need to upload simultaneously? Are employees based at a central location or operating remotely?

The answers can influence the infrastructure required around the deployment.

Turning recordings into manageable information

As a deployment grows, so does the amount of video it can generate.

Simply storing files is not enough. Organisations also need a practical way to identify and retrieve the footage they require.

Pinnacle Response DEMS automatically associates metadata including the user, camera serial number and date and time information with recordings.

Footage can also be manually tagged using configurable categories, case references or incident IDs.

These processes help transform a growing collection of recordings into structured information that authorised users can search and review.

Controlling who can access footage

Body-worn video can contain sensitive information.

Access therefore needs to be managed appropriately rather than treating recorded footage like an ordinary collection of video files.

DEMS provides password-controlled access levels and supports controlled user access.

It also maintains a searchable audit trail covering activity including access, viewing, editing and sharing.

For organisations operating across different departments or locations, these controls can form an important part of maintaining accountability around how recordings are managed.

Storage, retention and evidential integrity

Infrastructure also needs to account for what happens to footage over time.

Pinnacle Response DEMS is cloud-based and hosted on Amazon Web Services, with UK footage processed and stored within the UK region.

The platform supports configurable retention periods, allowing non-evidential files to be automatically deleted after the organisation's chosen period.

Where footage needs to be retained for evidential purposes, it can be designated accordingly and securely retained.

DEMS also retains an encrypted master file of the original video or asset and uses hash-based verification to support its integrity.

These processes illustrate why evidence management should be considered part of the body-worn video infrastructure from the beginning of a deployment.

Sharing information beyond the organisation

There will also be circumstances where recordings need to be provided to an authorised external party.

Rather than relying on uncontrolled methods of transferring files, DEMS supports audit-controlled evidence sharing.

This enables organisations to incorporate external sharing into the same accountable workflow used to manage the footage internally.

A body-worn video system, not simply a camera estate

The larger a deployment becomes, the more important the surrounding infrastructure becomes.

The camera captures the event.

But allocation, charging, connectivity, uploading, metadata, storage, permissions, searching, retention, audit trails and secure sharing determine how effectively that recording can subsequently be managed.

That is why professional body-worn video procurement should look beyond the number of cameras an organisation needs.

It should consider the complete system required to support those cameras throughout their operational life.

Pinnacle Response combines a range of professional body-worn cameras with its integrated Digital Evidence Management System, providing organisations with a complete approach to capturing and managing body-worn video.

To discuss the infrastructure required for your organisation's body-worn video deployment, contact Pinnacle Response.

Tel: +44(0)2895320222
Email: sales@pinnacleresponse.com