Hancock County Sheriff's deputies trained on new cruise and body camera equipment

HANCOCK COUNTY, W.Va. (WTRF) – The Hancock County Sheriff's Department is gearing up for new cruise and body cameras and just received training from Motorola Application Specialist Scott Mattson to learn how to use them.

7News reporter Annalize Murphy attended an exclusive training session to learn more behind the scenes.

These new cameras will make MPs' jobs much easier with improved video quality, speed and storage while increasing security, transparency and accountability.

The Hancock County Sheriff's Department has been working with its old cruise and body camera equipment since 2016.

“These new cameras also offer better features than the old ones. Obviously, with eight year old technology, we were starting to have problems with battery life and only the equipment was starting to fail.

Lieutenant Chad's Lamp | Hancock County Sheriff's Department

To help combat battery life issues, there is now a docking station in every cruiser that can charge body cameras.

Lt. Chad Lamp oversees the department's technology equipment and worked closely with Lauttamus Communication and Motorola Solutions to complete these upgrades.

Some of the other key features of these cameras include 1080p high definition video, GPS functionality, and synchronization between the body camera and cruiser camera.

“If I activate my dash cam based on a traffic stop or by activating my lights, it will automatically activate my body camera. If I'm outside the car and encounter a situation and activate my body camera, it will also remotely activate my in-car camera.

Lieutenant Chad's Lamp | Hancock County Sheriff's Department

The new patrol camera also allows deputies to see inside their back seat without having to turn around and can record the entire interaction between the officer and the individual, creating a safer environment for the two parts.

Lt. Lamp says having updated dash cam and body camera equipment is vital, especially in the society we live in today where everything is recorded and if it's not the case, “this did not happen”.

“Video evidence is really hard to refute. I think many police officers now understand the importance of video because it is essentially incontrovertible evidence at all times.

Lieutenant Chad's Lamp | Hancock County Sheriff's Department

Other features include the ability to view footage from the cruiser's cameras in the field without having to stop recording and a downloadable app that controls the body cameras.

“There is an app that will be downloaded to phones provided by our department that will allow us to not only control some features of the body camera, but also go back and view the video on the body camera.”

Lieutenant Chad's Lamp | Hancock County Sheriff's Department

Previously, all cruiser and body camera video was uploaded manually using a server within the courthouse, which did not make it easy to share or make copies.

New cloud-based storage makes sharing footage with other offices and agencies more efficient.

“This new software, this new camera system all operating via the Cloud, will allow us to share videos via the Cloud. So there will be no more DVD burning or DVD duplication. It will simply be a shareable email that they will now have access to.

Lieutenant Chad's Lamp | Hancock County Sheriff's Department

The new software also allows simultaneous viewing of all images. Lieutenant Lamp said: “[Cruiser and Body Cam] the videos will be linked once uploaded into our software. So when I watch a video, I can view both videos side by side on the screen, and I can see the view from my car and my body camera simultaneously.

Lt. Lamp says the software also allows for better case management, especially if multiple deputies respond.

It will be able to capture the unique incident number of each situation and organize footage from multiple cruisers and body cameras.

Hancock County Sheriff Scott Gittings told 7News the total $340,000 replacement of their cruise and body cameras was possible thanks to Shelly Moore Capito's office securing federal spending funds for the department .

“They are more practical and user-friendly. They do not have infrared capabilities and our deputies cannot modify or edit anything on the videos, but they can upload them automatically. We don't have to worry about storage because everything is cloud-based. This also makes obtaining copies of the videos much easier.

Sheriff Scott Gittings | Hancock County Sheriff's Department

In total, the department has 25 sets of new cruise and body camera equipment, which is not enough for the entire department.

Lt. Lamp says the upgrade covers the patrol division and all of its school resource officers.

“We're actually going to use the existing cameras and give them to the guys who don't have them. So our detectives will receive the old body cameras because they are still functional.

Lieutenant Chad's Lamp | Hancock County Sheriff's Department

The department says it plans to provide some of the older body cameras to courthouse security staff, which includes front door security and bailiffs.