As a top technology solutions provider Utility, Inc., strives to deliver groundbreaking digital systems for frontline professions. Utility, Inc. recently signed a body camera service contract with the Paradise Police Department in Paradise, California. This move came after the contract’s official approval by the Paradise Town Council earlier this year.
In addition to supplying police with its proprietary EOS by Utility™ body-worn camera technology, Utility has augmented its Paradise Police Department service with the ROCKET™ by Utility™ in-car communication platform. Beyond serving as a central recording system for Paradise’s EOS body cameras, Rocket offers both manual and automated control to switch the body cameras on and off precisely when needed.
In June of 2022, the Paradise Police Department officially announced that officers had begun using the new Utility body camera system. An invaluable tool in terms of boosting transparency, the police body camera records unbroken video footage from the point of view of the officer who wears it, helping to protect law enforcement and citizens alike from false accusations and claims of wrongdoing.
According to the Paradise Police Department, the total cost of the Utility EOS and ROCKET system was less than $246,000. This state-of-the-art, high-speed system is capable of collecting and coordinating data in real-time, compiling a permanent video record for a whole network of officers, and furthering accountability between the Paradise Police Department and the community that it serves.
The new EOS body cameras are embedded within the uniform of each officer, so they won’t detach even when they are violently jostled. For full coverage and maximum transparency, the EOS body camera employs artificial intelligence to remain “situationally aware” even when it is switched off. In other words, it records a two-minute buffer at all times even when it is supposedly deactivated. This allows law enforcement professionals and legal representatives to access two minutes of footage in advance of any manual switch-on.
Because the Paradise Police Department EOS body camera system is paired with the ROCKET by Utility™ in-car camera system, cameras can also be configured to automatically start or stop according to exact department specifications. To make the recording process as efficient and effective as possible, the Paradise Police Department has specifically programmed Rocket to automatically turn body cameras on whenever officers start to run, jostle or shake (as they would during a physical altercation), draw a handgun from its holster, unlock a shotgun or rifle rack, or activate either police vehicle lights or sirens.
To better aid officers who are in distress or need of backup, Paradise Police Department body cameras also automatically switch on whenever an officer lies flat for more than 10 seconds or whenever an officer is within 500 feet of an ongoing police pursuit or another “active zone” as identified by a computer-aided dispatch call service. Known as “Officer Down,” the first of these two features notifies all police vehicles in the district that an officer requires immediate assistance.
The Rocket by Utility™ in-car communication system offers exceptional officer connectivity, facilitating the instantaneous transfer of multimedia data back to department headquarters from virtually any location. As long as an officer’s police vehicle is connected to a mobile cellular network or wireless internet, the Rocket system can automatically download video or send other informative evidence for secure storage on the cloud.
As remarkable as these features are, they are only the beginning of what Rocket by Utility™ has to offer. In addition to connecting with EOS police body camera, Rocket can power up to four wide-angle vehicle cameras and program them to operate autonomously. It also connects to the police vehicle directly, offering automotive monitoring capabilities that go far beyond the standard “check engine” light. Monitoring the vehicle’s onboard diagnostics through a special module, it provides real-time alerts on everything from fluid levels to engine performance.
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