BODY-WORN CAMERAS ARE PAVING THE WAY FOR BETTER TRANSPARENCY AND A PROMISING FUTURE IN MUSKEGON HEIGHTS CASE STUDY MUSKEGON HEIGHTS POLICE DEPARTMENT

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1 BODY-WORN CAMERAS ARE PAVING THE WAY FOR BETTER TRANSPARENCY AND A PROMISING FUTURE IN MUSKEGON HEIGHTS CASE STUDY MUSKEGON HEIGHTS POLICE DEPARTMENT

2 THE CHALLENGE IMPROVING PUBLIC SAFETY DESPITE BUDGET PRESSURES A close-knit community, Muskegon Heights, Michigan, is home to more than 10,000 residents. Once a thriving commercial and residential hub, it was hit hard by the economic downturn. Poverty made the area vulnerable to drugs and gang warfare, 3 pushing violent crime rates to four times that of the national average. 4 At the same time, budgetary constraints put pressure on the Muskegon Heights Police Department to do more with less. The department s number of officers remained lean, and turnover was high. Once Chief Dr. Joseph E. Thomas, Jr. took over the Muskegon Heights Police Department in 2016, his aim was to revitalize the agency and make the necessary changes to keep the streets safe and prepare Muskegon Heights for a promising future. During a recession, agencies tend to shy away from spending on technology. Not so with Chief Thomas: My formal education has taught me that the best practice is to invest in technology, when there s a reduction in personnel and resources. With his mind set on rebuilding trust and accountability in the community, Chief Thomas embarked on a journey to acquire a body-worn camera solution. Body-worn cameras can serve as extra eyes and ears in the field. Police can identify suspects who flee a scene to later call them in for questioning. Transparency created by the cameras also serves as a powerful tool for both the public and the police. A lot of times people use social media against the police, said Chief Thomas. Video from a body-worn camera can put a different light on the incident, by telling the entire story. CUSTOMER PROFILE Muskegon Heights Police Department 20 police officers 10,856 residents square miles 2 SOLUTION 20 Si500 Body-Worn Cameras CommandCentral Vault Digital Evidence Management Software 20 APX 8000 Digital Two-Way All-Band Radios KEY BENEFITS Three-in-one body-worn camera means less equipment to carry Louder, clearer audio improves ability to communicate IP67 and MIL-STD 810G durability reduces cost of ownership Smart data correlation saves time searching for and sharing content Faster object-based redaction avoids the need for increased staffing 2 MUSKEGON HEIGHTS POLICE DEPARTMENT

3 Everything you need is right there on your shoulder. Dr. Joseph E. Thomas, Jr. Chief of Muskegon Heights Police Department THE SOLUTION A BODY-WORN CAMERA DESIGNED TO DO MORE Chief Thomas believed that implementing new technology would help transform his community for the better, but the question was which technology to choose. He needed to build true transparency and trust immediately and effectively. The adoption of body-worn cameras offered the best potential for success, but Chief Thomas also knew that budget pressures and urgency meant the department needed a solution that could be trusted to work right away. During a series of evaluations, the Chief considered several options, looking for the solution that best supported his agency s needs for capturing, storing and effectively managing video evidence. The results pointed to the Motorola Solutions Si500 Body-Worn Camera combined with the APX 8000 Two-Way Radio and CommandCentral Vault Digital Evidence Management Software. key stakeholders understand how the Si500 and CommandCentral Vault would deliver on the Chief s vision. Chief Thomas recalled that the responses to the technology choice were overwhelmingly positive, because of the solution s robust capabilities. Ultimately, the community agreed with the Chief to move forward with this technology investment in better public safety. Their belief was that the Si500 deployment would provide an important new tool to law enforcement and to the citizens they serve. Three days after the cameras and radios arrived, the department successfully completed implementation and training. The system is so simple to install and learn, remarked Chief Thomas. I was so impressed with the Si500, said Chief Thomas. It was multifaceted. Everything you need is right there on your shoulder. You ve got a video camera, a still-image camera, a microphone and a speaker all rolled into one. He was equally pleased to find the data storage easily scalable to the department s needs and the video downloading process efficient. Other body-worn camera solutions were harder to download. This one is fast and easy, commented Chief Thomas. The next step was to meet with community groups and union representatives until full buy-in was attained. It was vital to have the 3 MUSKEGON HEIGHTS POLICE DEPARTMENT

4 This is part of the new normal. These cameras allow officers to be safe and allows our residents to feel safe as they interact with the officers. Kimberly Sims Muskegon Heights Mayor 6 THE BENEFITS IMMEDIATELY TRANSFORMING INTERACTIONS AND IMPROVING TRUST Already, the solution has reduced citizen complaints and increased accountability. It s definitely improving our engagement with the public, said Chief Thomas. For example, in one situation an angry citizen was shouting at a sergeant for arresting her son. However, once she noticed that the exchange was being recorded, she immediately changed her tone and apologized. When people know that they are on camera, it seems to have prompted more civility, said Chief Thomas. I ve noticed that people tend to talk to our officers more humanely. And I think the officers language has been improving too, he added. It s really changing the behavior and culture of the community. 5 We want people to know that this is being done for their benefit, said Muskegon Heights City Manager Jake Eckholm. We felt as though it would create accountability in this new age of social media. 6 CHANGE MADE EASIER WITH WELL-DESIGNED TECHNOLOGY This camera is just easy to use, said Chief Thomas. With one hand, you can activate the camera. Some of the others require two hands. As for its performance with the APX 8000 as a remote speaker microphone, Chief Thomas noted, The audio quality is unreal. Our officers have never heard each other so clearly. The Si500 dynamically adjusts its level of noise suppression, wind porting and equalization for the clearest audio attainable. This exceptional audio clarity is possible due to its five integrated microphones and adaptive audio software. Plus, you don t have to be a computer technician in order to get into CommandCentral Vault and extract the data that you need, said Chief Thomas. That really sold us. You can search for data by date and time, and it will go right to it. You don t have to search through it like you do some of the other systems. Now, if something should transpire, you re going to get the whole story, not just what you see on Facebook. [That s] because we now have the video camera on us, said Chief Thomas. The citizens now feel like they can trust our officers because everything is transparent, added Chief Thomas. And that s what we re looking for - transparency. 4 MUSKEGON HEIGHTS POLICE DEPARTMENT

5 With the Si500, the officers content is automatically tagged with their names and location. An incident ID can also be added from the Si500 s built-in touchscreen, right in the field. The smart data correlation then makes it easier to later search for the exact footage needed within CommandCentral Vault. CommandCentral Vault even makes security and chain-of-custody verification easy for Muskegon Heights PD. Only four people can manipulate, extract or redact: the three commanders and the chief of police, said Chief Thomas. That s what I like about Command Central Vault: every time you add something or take something out, the system documents who did it, what was done and when it was done. And if you try to breach the system, CommandCentral Vault will let us know. With a continued focus on user experience, both in the field with the devices and back at the station with CommandCentral Vault, this new technology has been adopted within the Muskegon Heights Police Department with greater ease than Chief Thomas ever thought possible. The audio quality is unreal. Our officers have never heard each other so clearly. Dr. Joseph E. Thomas, Jr. Chief of Muskegon Heights Police Department 5 MUSKEGON HEIGHTS POLICE DEPARTMENT

6 That s what I like about CommandCentral Vault: every time you add something or take something out, the system documents who did it, what was done and when it was done. Dr. Joseph E. Thomas, Jr. Chief of Muskegon Heights Police Department A SIGNIFICANT FIRST STEP FORWARD FOR PUBLIC SAFETY Today, all of the 20 Muskegon Heights officers wear the Si500 Video Speaker Microphone. Officers are required to turn the cameras on whenever they are out of their cars and working in an official capacity. Since the Muskegon Heights Police Department s initial investment in the body-worn camera solution, there has been a clear improvement in accountability, legitimacy and a stronger partnership with the citizens of Muskegon Heights. Muskegon Heights Police Department has invested in this state-of-the-art technology in order to continue our mission to foster a better quality of life, Chief Thomas said. This solution helps create greater citizen engagement and transparency in our community. SOURCES: U.S. Census 2. City-data.com 3. Violence Puts Parents on Edge in Muskegon Heights, The Detroit News, Sept. 26, City-data.com 5. Muskegon Heights police officers body cameras first in Muskegon area, Lynn Moore, MLIVE, Aug. 18, Muskegon Heights PD purchases state-of-the-art body cams, Tom Hillen, WOODTV8, Aug. 18, 2017 For more information on how you can sharpen your focus on public safety with an innovative body-worn camera solution, visit MotorolaSolutions.com/Si500 Motorola Solutions, Inc. 500 West Monroe Street, Chicago, Il U.S.A. motorolasolutions.com MOTOROLA, MOTO, MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS and the Stylized M Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Motorola Trademark Holdings, LLC and are used under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners Motorola Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved