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Estonian Police Deploy Body Cameras to Improve Officer Safety
Police officers in Estonia are equipped with Reveal body-worn cameras to capture high-quality evidence and reduce violence and aggression.
180 cameras have been deployed within the Estonian Police Force. All departments now have access to the units activated by the officer when the need arises.
Kristjan Toom, Senior Law Enforcement Officer, explained that the officer has a duty to notify the public when the camera is turned on, but the front-facing screen makes it extra clear that a recording is taking place. He added that you don't have to worry about the footage, which is securely stored in an encrypted state on the camera and cannot be tampered with.
When the police officer returns to the station, they slot the camera into the docking station and any video files are automatically uploaded to the server. We assess each video in DEMS 360 to see whether it needs to be filed away as evidence, in which case it is marked and stored for a set period. Everything else is automatically deleted.Kristjan Toom, Senior Law Enforcement Officer
Toom also explained how the body camera's presence is sometimes enough in itself to deter aggressive behaviour without needing to turn the camera on. When people know that their behaviour could be recorded, they tend to calm down and alter their behaviour favourably.