Software uses Web cam to record statements away from police department
The new software, which utilizes a Web cam, will automatically transmit video feed from investigators’ laptop computers to the department’s newly purchased iRecord video system at the Greenfield Police Department, allowing victims to provide court-admissible statements without having to come to the police department.
“That feeds it into this main system just as if you’re sitting in our interview room,” Greenfield Police Chief John Jester said.
The court requires any interviews associated with felony cases to be video-recorded.
For victims of crimes such as sexual assault or domestic violence, having an extra level of comfort can make all the difference in an interview, said Detective Lt. Randy Ratliff, who leads the department’s investigations division.
“(The police department’s) kind of cold and not a place that they’re gonna relax,” Ratliff said. “Most people aren’t comfortable in the police department.”
The software was a perk included with the department’s new video system, Capt. Joe Munden said Tuesday to the Greenfield Board of Works and Public Safety, which approved the purchase of the $19,000 system.
Munden approached the board with the request after the department’s video system started to show signs of failing. While taking bids from area companies, Munden found one that agreed to extend a March special and provide the $3,500 mobile software for free.
“It’s actually a whole extra version of the iRecord,” said Munden, commander of the department’s support division. “The detectives can go to another location, like the jail or someone’s office or wherever, to interview them.”
While $19,000 might sound pricey for a video system, the less expensive cameras that are available to the general public are not sufficient for what police require.
In order for a video to be credible, it must be accompanied by software that prohibits it from being manipulated after an interview is complete.
“The software itself has validations it runs to show that it is an unedited … video,” Munden said.
Mayor Dick Pasco said the board readily agreed to the expenditure after learning GPD’s current system had been malfunctioning.
“It’s an awfully important piece of equipment, something you don’t want to have not working,” Pasco said. “If it doesn’t record, it could affect prosecution.”
Munden expects to have the equipment in the next 60 days, if not sooner.
“It’s an awfully important piece of equipment, something you don’t want to have not working,” Pasco said. “If it doesn’t record, it could affect prosecution.”
Munden expects to have the equipment in the next 60 days, if not sooner.
