07-18-2017, 12:17 PM
(07-18-2017, 10:00 AM)GMDino Wrote: I have heard about the storage and costs. The gopro 5 with a 64g card can hold about eight hours of HD video. Couldn't there be a way to have an industrial one that is protected so only certain people can review/erase the video?
Just spitballing.
The other good thing is that costs of storage keep coming down even as more officers are using the cameras.
The issue with this idea is the cameras can be "lost" if the storage is local. They tried storing them in hard drives in the trunks of cars originally, but there were major issues there as far as chain of custody and such. The industry has basically come to the agreement that cloud based storage is the best way to do it. The issue they still struggle with is costs to transmit and store. Think how much data streaming a video in HD from Netflix takes. Now think about that 12ish hours a day for hundreds of officers in some departments.
I'll put this in perspective of how lucrative the transmission (don't underestimate this part) and storage of video is. Taser, one of the biggest companies in the law enforcement industry, completely pivoted their business. While they still sell Tasers they renamed themselves Axon and their focus is in the body camera field. To take it one step further they are giving away the cameras, but making all their money in the transmission and storage fees they are charging police agencies.
Going forward the biggest cost to police departments won't be guns, cars, or officers it will be transmitting and storing all of the video. With requirements to keep the video growing longer and longer, the amount of storage need will explode exponentially over the next five years.
