Safer local law enforcement officers at EBS Public Transportation with ZEPCAM
In order to be fully prepared for every potential incident, local law enforcement officers working at the Dutch company EBS Public Transportation all started using bodycams. Which challenges did local law enforcement officers face before and what was the solution?
The challenge
In the last year, law enforcement officers working at the Dutch company EBS Public Transportation BV discovered the need to be as well prepared and protected as possible during their employees’ daily duties. This includes ticket checks, incidents involving aggression and road accidents. With safety and transparency being of the utmost importance for EBS, some adjustments needed to be made. There was a need to guarantee the work safety of law enforcement officers, to de-escalate and reduce potentially disruptive behaviour towards them and to ensure safety and transparency for everyone on public transport. Local law enforcement officers working at EBS were kitted out with a bodycam almost a year ago.
The solution had to meet several challenging requirements:
• The bodycams needed to be as straightforward and easy to use as possible
• The software needed to comply with EBS’s strict privacy requirements
• Data safety was of utmost importance
Products used
T2+ Bodycam
More information >
Smart Docking Station
More information >
ZEPCAM Manager
More information >
The solution
EBS decided to go for the ZEPCAM T2+ solution. This is an endlessly scalable solution, consisting of hardware and software components. Users and bodycams can be added as you go without any limitations. The bodycams are comfortable to wear and local law enforcement officers have found that they are easy to use, without any unnecessary additions. An additional training would be useful, but ZEPCAM offers excellent customer support every step of the way, from setup, to training, to deployment. The excellent audio and image quality of ZEPCAM bodycams are also deemed to be very satisfactory. The docking stations are an important part of the solution. These enable not only the fast downloading of data, but also regulate the amount of data that passes through the data network, ensuring that it can handle all of the information without affecting other systems negatively. The integrated approach of device and software allows for fast and easy video management and complies with all data safety standards.
Once people see the bodycam is filming, they are more careful about what they say and do
Edwin Haanstra
Local law enforcement officer at EBS
Results
The bodycams have been fully operational for almost a year amongst local law enforcement officers working at EBS. The zone started working with one bodycam for each local law enforcement officer and the plan is to keep adding bodycams as the number of local law enforcement officers grows and keep equipping every officer with a bodycam in the future. The bodycams come in handy during ticket inspections inside the bus, incidents involving violence against drivers, people on the road who have complaints against the driver and even car accidents. Bodycams have de-escalated and reduced incidents and allowed law enforcement officers to handle each interaction in a more self-aware and professional manner. The presence of bodycams has resulted in more awareness of the actions of both the law enforcement officers and the people on public transport.
Learnings
An important learning for local law enforcement officers is to think pragmatically about their approach. Each local law enforcement officer must remain aware that every action is filmed and maintain a critical attitude towards his own actions at all times. It’s important to always handle situations in a correct manner. As a result, local law enforcement officers currently operate in a more self-aware manner. This positive change in behaviour also applies to the general public. Knowing certain actions are being filmed, helps both parties remain moderate and calm in their approach. The goal is to keep getting better and more professional at handling and responding to incidents, should they arise.
About ZEPCAM
Since 2009, ZEPCAM has been on a mission to make society safer. Today, more than 500 customers in more than 40 countries use ZEPCAM professional bodycam solutions to protect and support their frontline professionals when it really matters, and to improve the working conditions and efficiency of various frontline industries. Comprising bodycams, a video management system and hosting solutions, ZEPCAM provides frontline professionals and their managers with the tools to do their work safely and gather evidence that will stand up in court.
>> ZEPCAM Bodycam Solutions for Public Transportation Workers
