Sunday, January 03, 2010

Taser's technology is creating the Proto-RoboCop:
...Police have so often been accused of using Tasers gratuitously that the firm started fitting them with digital cameras that recorded every firing. This "Taser-cam" got the firm's boffins thinking: why not equip police with cameras that can record entire incidents (not just the brief moment when a Taser is used) and even beam the recordings instantly back to the higher-ups at headquarters?

The result is a "tactical on-officer network computer" called AXON, which is being tested by several police forces in America. Recordings are uploaded to a restricted website, evidence.com, to be viewed by approved personnel. Mr Smith says that the creation of a sort of "secure YouTube of global law enforcement" could be beneficial both for the public, who would get more accountable police, and for officers on the beat, who could be vindicated more quickly if falsely accused of brutality.