Catasauqua Police Department Adds New Weapons Technology

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Catasauqua Police Department, located just outside of Allentown, Pennsylvania, has added a new weapons technology. The police department will be deploying FACT Duty, a weapons mounted camera system from Viridian. They are the first police department to deploy a weapons mounted camera system.

The police department held a joint press conference with the company today to announce the deployment of the new technology.

The FACT Duty fits officer weapons and holsters and records automatically, providing an unobstructed view from the end of an officer’s firearm.

The technology deploys a 1080p full-HD digital camera with a microphone and 500 lumen tactical light. Viridian’s proprietary Instant-On technology automatically activates the camera and microphone whenever the officer draws the firearm from its holster. The cameras fit on existing standard-issue firearms and fit seamlessly in multiple duty holster platforms. The cameras also feature a recording time of over three hours, incorporate secured data access and are rechargeable.

The cameras are designed to fit within existing video data management and chain of custody systems. In most cases data transmitted by these cameras is smaller than body or dash cameras because they are only operational when a firearm is in use.

“The transparency and ease of implementation helped us choose this solution,” said Catasauqua Chief of Police Douglas Kish. “A department of our size has a surprisingly large number of interactions with the public. The FACT Duty WMC allows us the coverage for a possible (and rare) Officer Involved Shooting without huge overhead costs or recurring payment requirements.”

According to the company, the cameras were developed recently in response to growing questions about how and when police use force. Several police involved shootings in recent years have led to a growing distrust of police departments by the public. Law enforcement and policymakers are working through several different strategies to restore that trust and help the public understand when force might be used. Viridian says the technology provides another layer of evidence without the risk that an officer will turn off or fail to turn on body or dash cameras.