U-M-Flint police officers are testing some of the latest crime-fighting technology. Police departments have had cameras mounted in their cars for several years.
Now, officers walking the beat can carry similar devices attached to their shirts.
It’s called a VIDMIC, a radio outfitted with a tiny camera and microphone. The U-M-Flint Department of Public Safety currently is testing the new devices, which cost $700 apiece.
An officer can press a button and turn on a full-color digital video recorder, still-photo camera and digital audio recorder all housed in the shoulder microphone that most already wear. The new system can record up to three hours of quality video creating undisputable evidence for police and prosecutors.
“It’s cutting edge. I plan on buying five if it works out well,” says Chalmers Sanders, director of public safety at U-M-Flint. “We’re trying them on day shift, afternoons, evening shift; we want to see how it works in the real world, our real world.”
The device is simple to operate, says Officer David Hunter, who recently used the VIDMIC. “You’re also able to review info. It’ll help in the ‘he said/she said’ instances.”
Hunter agrees that it protects officers as well as the citizens.
With the first student housing on campus set to open in the fall, the new cameras are seen as an important tool for officers.
“We will soon be a 24-hour campus,” Sanders says.
The cameras could help if officers have to go inside the building.
“It puts them back on the street faster … without having to go back and get equipment,” Hunter says. “Then just download it into computer. That’s great, a great thing.”
