Aside from protecting individual officers, body-worn cameras can help your business manage incidents more effectively, says Axon.

For retail businesses especially, the presence of security officers with body-worn cameras can aid in loss prevention, including employee theft.

The mere presence of a camera, especially one that has livestreaming capabilities, can deter a crime.

Having a security officer with a body-worn camera patrolling the premises can also make people less likely to engage in other disruptive activities, like intentionally damaging products or harassing other shoppers.

Aside from being a crime deterrent and a helpful tool for managing incidents, the presence of body-worn camera footage has been linked to fewer complaints.

Fewer complaints leads to less of your time and resources going to filing paperwork that leads nowhere.

Generally, using body-worn cameras can help you streamline administrative processes and make incidents easier to resolve since the presence of concrete evidence (via footage) will clearly show what took place.  

If one of your officers is involved in an incident, a body-worn camera with real-time response capabilities allows authorised personnel to livestream the incident as it is happening in the field and send help as needed.

For example, leading body-worn camera platforms help ensure you never miss a moment by allowing leaders and support staff to watch a livestream remotely so they can assess the situation and offer guidance or backup as needed. Axon Body 3 works with Axon Respond using programmatic integrations and hardware sensors to send alerts to permissioned staff, so you’re in the know as soon as an incident takes place.

The truth benefits all, including anyone involved in security incidents and the public at large.

Interacting with a security officer equipped with a body-worn camera, as well as seeing camera footage that clearly shows how events unfolded, can put people’s minds at ease and ultimately preserve a brand’s reputation following a dispute.

Having readily-available footage can also assist law enforcement personnel with investigations and foster trust if a particular incident is publicised.

By being able to show exactly what took place, you are confirming that you have nothing to hide, which bolsters your brand and your client’s brand.

The Axon Body 4 has an expansive 160-degree field of view and a 5MP camera sensor that can feed footage directly to Axon Evidence.

It also includes advanced features such as bi-directional communication for support in the moment and real-time capabilities like live maps, alerts, and streaming through Axon Respond.

That helps dispatch send reinforcements as quickly as possible, keeping officers safe and supported.

A recent survey of more than 1,200 retail employees conducted by Axon found that:

• 74% of employees reported feeling unsafe in their stores
• 71% of employees felt their companies had not adequately invested in employee safety
• 44% of employees reported fear of returning to their store after an incident

Read our report on ‘The State of Organised Retail Crime & In-Store Worker Safety’ for more insights into the emerging conditions that have made Axon Body Workforce a necessity.

Protecting frontline workers

Whether they’re in retail, healthcare or another public facing industry, frontline workers keep the world running.

Their interactions with members of the public can be uniquely demanding and most frontline workers have more than their share of stories about unforgettably odd experiences with customers or clients.

That’s an unavoidable part of the job and for many, so is feeling unsafe at work.

Unfortunately, rising rates of violence and crime in retail and healthcare settings mean concerns about safety are valid.

Frontline workers need a way to feel safer as they work.

They need a tool that makes de-escalation the norm and that offers access to real time support.

It must accomplish this task without interfering with their duties or adding new logistical wrinkles to their already busy schedules.

Axon Body Workforce is Axon’s answer.

The centrepiece of Axon Body Workforce is its high-quality camera.

It’s housed in an unobtrusive and durable body that offers uniform friendly mounting options and brand friendly customisable colour shells.

Deep integration with Axon Evidence allows quick offloading and management of recordings.

Connectivity with Axon Respond enables live alerts, maps and streaming.

Each feature is made to be reliable and easy to use across the board.

Ask any first responder who has responded to calls with and without a body-worn camera and they’ll tell you that the presence of body-worn cameras tends to alter behaviour for the better.

Beyond the passive benefit of the camera’s presence, Axon Body Workforce also supports active de-escalation by connecting employees to support in real time through Axon Respond.

Employees never need to face potentially dangerous situations on their own.

Instead, response staff trained in safety and de-escalation can assist directly from Axon Body Workforce, either by advising the employee in the moment or directly addressing the subject via two-way communication.

This real time support and visibility empowers employees, where appropriate, to deter and de-escalate incidents.

That in turn increases feelings of employee safety and morale, builds customer confidence as stores feel safer and prevents potential lost revenue.

Key features to look for in BWCs

When selecting a body camera solution, here are some key features to consider:

High-quality video capture: Body camera footage is only as useful as it is clear.

Look for cameras with wide fields of view, powerful sensors and a resolution of at least 720p.

Intuitive user interface: No matter how powerful a solution is, it becomes useless if operators can’t parse it.

A body camera with an intuitive interface will often see more widespread and appropriate use than one with unlimited customisation buried under overly complex controls.

Rugged build quality: Police and security officers face myriad physical challenges in the line of duty, from on-foot pursuits to hand-to-hand altercations.

Their equipment must stand up to the rigors of service and body cameras are no exception.

Wing clip and Z-bracket mounts will keep them attached, and solid-state drives and compact design can improve their durability.

Airtight security: The footage recorded by body cameras frequently contains sensitive information.

Safely storing that footage with encryption, user permissions, and audit trails can protect you from litigation and other negative repercussions.

High-performance battery: If a body camera battery fails, it can expose the officer and their force or the security officer, their company and the company they represent to complaints and litigation.

Downtime due to extended charging sessions can do the same.

Body camera batteries should last the duration of a shift and charge as quickly as possible.

This article was originally published in the May Edition of Security Journal United Kingdom. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.