DigitalPatroller FAQs

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What exactly is the DigitalPatroller System?

DigitalPatroller is a complete, integrated video surveillance solution that has been designed from the ground up as a tool for use in the harsh environments of public safety. The standard system consists of three tightly integrated sub-systems: 1) an in-car data capture system, 2) a data transfer system, and 3) a data management system.

The data capture system is installed inside each vehicle. The data transfer system is housed in a headquarters garage or parking lot. Data management happens at the headquarters or station facility. In-car components consist of a high quality optical zoom camera, an LCD Monitor, the digital recorder itself and a wireless microphone. The camera and monitor are mounted near the headliner of the vehicle. Data is routed to the DVR which is small enough to be mounted under the dash, between the seats, or in the trunk of the vehicle. Video, audio, date/time, vehicle ID, and radar information are captured.

In addition, DigitalPatroller has a built-in GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver to record latitude and longitude information, officer ID, and police vehicle speed. These metrics offer powerful search tools, as users can access video on demand rather than spending hours searching for footage.

DigitalPatroller also offers multiple video and audio inputs, allowing agencies to capture data from several angles. A variety of other metrics are available as needed. With the DigitalPatroller Data Transfer System officers and supervisors never need to handle the data files. At the end of a typical shift users simply plug in the data transfer cable located at the rear of the car. There are three basic options for transferring recorded data from the car onto the storage or client server:

  1. Physically connect the car to the DigitalPatroller Data Storage system from a parking lot, garage, or refueling point, via a connector on the car. This is the fastest way to upload files to a central server.
  2. Upload files wirelessly from the parking lot or via wireless hubs throughout the city.
  3. Use the removable hard drive option to download files to a location outside the vehicle.

In DPView, video data can be viewed, searched and retrieved using a number of user-defined criteria such as GPS location, radar speed, officer ID, incident ID, stop type and more. Configurable settings give users total control of their databases.

My officers think that in-car recording systems exist simply to find mistakes in how they perform their jobs. How can those concerns be addressed?

Line officers can only benefit from what DigitalPatroller has to offer. Never again will there be a question of "he said, she said." Everything that happened is captured on file. As cited by the IACP's Technology Technical Assistance Program, 93% of the time a complaint is filed regarding police conduct and there is video evidence available, the officer is exonerated. Scarce and expensive community resources don't have to be spent defending frivolous lawsuits. And if your officers are not in court, they can be where they are needed most, on the street.

Why does my department need an in-car recording system at all?

Many public service organizations adopt the simple mission statement: "To Protect and To Serve." Certainly this mission relates first and foremost to the protection of the citizens of your community. However, an important ancillary consideration is the protection of public servants. To these concerns, DigitalPatroller represents a powerful tool for providing an objective record of your department's interactions with the community. For many agencies, minimizing frivolous accusations and charges of racial profiling alone justify such systems

What is the difference between analog and digital recording systems?

Digital video has become the modern standard in policing for a number of reasons:

  • Evidentiary integrity: digital files are far more secure than analog VHS tapes, which can be tampered with, lost or damaged over time.
  • Far superior search and storage mechanisms: countless digital files can be searched and retrieved in moments. Clips are easily downloaded to DVD to take to court. Searching analog archives is extremely labor-intensive and time-consuming.
  • Pre-event recording: with digital, what happened right before the actual incident is recorded. Analog systems don't start recording until after the event has taken place.
  • Metadata: critical information can be embedded in the digital video files such as GPS location, radar speed, officer ID, incident ID, stop type, etc.

What are some problems inherent in analog videotape systems?

  • Analog signals stored on magnetic tape degrade over time (magnetism slowly wears down). Every time a tape is played, the tape makes physical contact with heads that read the magnetic flux on the tape. During this process, heads can become magnetized and cause damage to signals on the tape by mixing magnetic flux on the tape with magnetic flux from the heads, thus slightly altering the original signal.
  • Tapes are not efficient when it comes to retrieval, particularly when random access is desired (to understand this point, think of how much easier it is to access a favorite song on a CD as opposed to an audio cassette).
  • Copies of data made from one tape to another suffer from generational loss. Each copy contains less and less of the original data, degrading the integrity of your evidence.
  • Recording, playback, and the life span of stored tapes can be negatively impacted when ambient temperature and humidity are not maintained within relatively narrow parameters

Are there any technical issues with digital systems I should know about?

Digital recording and playback have unique technical challenges of their own. Converting video from a camera into digital form generates huge computer files, so they must be compressed before being stored on a computer hard drive (and, of course, de-compressed when played back). Even today's fastest computers cannot compress and decompress video in real-time. So in order to keep up a standard computer must discard a certain amount of the data. When this happens a combination of three things results:

  1. The picture is presented in a smaller window on the screen
  2. The picture becomes jerky (low frame rate)
  3. The crispness and definition of the picture degrades. In places where lower quality levels can be tolerated this method of digital capture, storage, and retrieval is acceptable (a good example is streaming video over the Internet)

However the standards for airtight evidence are far higher. DigitalPatroller solves the fundamental challenges of digital capture through the use of the latest industry standard MPEG-4 video compression algorithms. Resulting files are appropriately small, yet of significantly greater quality than other compression systems can attain. The DigitalPatroller system is able to achieve these results without overloading other parts of the host computer system. These factors make the system ideal for environments where multiple cameras, high frame rates, and high quality images are imperative.


Who do I contact for more information about DigitalPatroller?

Locate the sales manager in your area: http://www.integrian.com/index.php/homepage/find-a-rep