Body Cameras: Who Uses One as a Civilian?

[kiddchaos]

So the solution is an encryptable video feed where only you hold the decryption key.

 

[printcraft]

Small piece of electrical tape make LED go in stealth mode.

 

[tbhausen]

Very good thread... Thanks, everyone.

 

[17 squirrel]

So the solution is an encryptable video feed where only you hold the decryption key.

Hummmmm.. Apple iCamera

 

[BlackGun]

Very interesting....thanks to all for posting multiple perspectives....

 

[Car Ramrod]

I never said you shouldn't get a body cam

For some reason I don't have the same apprehension about dash cameras that I do about body cameras. Perhaps its that since it is mounted to the vehicle and basically stationary, people don't have the expectation that it will capture everything. I've actually considered one for my truck after seeing so many videos of crashes on Youtube.

I have two experiences which caused me to install a dash cam in my truck.

1) I recently was a juror in a case where the two parties were involved in a car accident. Had one of them had a dash cam there is a good chance there would not have been 3+ years of nonsense and a stupid trial that stole my entire week off from work.

2) An officer recently changed lanes mid-turn through an intersection, cutting in front of my wife (two left turn lanes). In order to safely and successfully make the turn, she was forced to take the turn even wider into a lane that ended. She then had to increase her speed to get around the officer's car and subsequently "made an unsafe lane change." He pulled her over, and although he ran her license and just let her go, it was a a BS stop. Had she been cited for something the dash cam footage would have been counter-proof to the officer's dashcam showing her reaction to his actions. What gets me is the officer was oblivious to what he had done in the intersection and then wanted to lecture my wife on not being a safe driver.

Aside from above, I look at it as cheap insurance in the event something happens to me while I am driving. Will it capture everything? No. Will it capture more details and remember it longer than I will? Definitely.


This is the unit I went with. In my searches of reviews, I found it to be the best for the money. Amazon.com: Black Box G1W Original Dashboard Dash Cam - Full HD 1080P H.264 2.7" LCD Car DVR Camera Video Recorder with G-Sensor Night Vision Motion Detection WDR 140° Wide Angle 4X Zoom - NT96650 + AR0330: Cell Phones & Accessories