Police to begin mobile filming: "up to a thousand new video cameras for filming”

The police are to trial a mobile video camera system that will enable policing to be filmed.

The police have developed a mobile video camera system that can be connected to the group video service, that is used in daily operations for intelligence gathering. The mobile video camera system will be used in police operations and it will replace the previously used body cameras. Body cameras have been in use by the police since 2015, mainly in public order and security operations to film police missions, to gather evidence and to improve safety at work.

The mobile video camera system will be rolled out during spring 2025. The new system will allow images to be taken with a camera connected to a mobile phone, that can be attached to a uniform or other equipment. The system can also be used in a vehicle or even in a drone.

The mobile video camera system will be used to gather all kinds of intelligence. The system can be used to gather information and evidence for the processing of police matters or, for example, for maintaining a situational picture of police operations. In addition, the information captured by the system can serve the legal protection both of the police and the citizens.

The footage gathered by mobile filming is stored directly from the device onto a server, from where it can be stored for further processing. If the footage is not transferred from the server, it will be automatically destroyed two weeks after filming.

"The filming for the police operations has been developed for a number of years. Mobile video camera systems make filming and information processing easy for the police. For this purpose, up to a thousand new video cameras for filming has been acquired for the police officers. In addition, the activities are supported by a new regulation from the National Police Board of Finland. It is important to remember that when the police officers film, they do not film solely for the purpose of carrying out their duties and that the footing captured can serve the legal protection both of police officers and the persons targeted," says Chief Superintendent Konsta Arvelin at the Police Operations Unit.