Utility has published an analysis of the true cost of ownership for police body-worn cameras. The analysis shows how the five-year total cost of ownership of these cameras could be cut in half by paying attention to hidden, and often unnecessary, costs instead of choosing a camera based on cost of device alone. In addition, the company found that its Bodyworn solution can save law enforcement agencies more than $12,000 per camera over five years.
"This analysis is intended to educate government leaders, police executives, and procurement staff about the true total cost of implementing and operating a body camera program. The body camera hardware is just the start of the total cost of ownership," stated Utility CEO Robert McKeeman.
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The total cost of ownership analysis was calculated based upon a 100-unit body camera deployment over a five-year period. Utility based the comparison of representative body camera devices on information collected in three overall cost categories:
Deployment Costs - Camera and docking station hardware and software, network infrastructure enhancements, software seat licenses and training.
Direct Operating Costs - Operations support staff, video upload and storage, officer overtime to dock cameras, and retraining for changes in video recording policy and operating procedures.
Indirect Operating Costs - Police department video management support staff for video classification, redaction, security, and distribution; District Attorney; and other video consumer support staff.
A big hidden cost, according to the analysis, comes from video redaction. McKeeman cites a 2015 study from the U.S. Department of Justice that evaluated the impact of body-worn cameras.
"[In the study,] officers only remembered to turn on manually operated body cameras 13% of the time the Phoenix Police policy said they should have," he stated."Police Departments should want body-worn cameras that also increase police officer safety, particularly when the 5-Year Total Cost of Ownership is less than half that of a simplistic manually operated, clip-on camera."
He goes on to note that the ability to redact video quickly and at a low cost helps with police transparency and accountability and protects the privacy of police officers and citizens.
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Download the full analysis for free from Utility or learn more about BodyWorn here.
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