Bodycam
Definition
A body-worn camera, usually shoulder or chest mounted, used by the CSI to capture continuous video of scene work with timestamp and GPS metadata.
- Wear position
- Shoulder or chest mounted
- Captured metadata
- Timestamp and GPS location
- Recording type
- Continuous video during scene work
- User
- Crime scene investigator (CSI)
Common questions
How does bodycam footage differ from fixed scene photography?+
Fixed photography produces deliberate, composed shots of specific items or areas at chosen moments. Bodycam footage is continuous and hands-free, capturing the investigator's movement through the scene and incidental context that a still photograph plan might miss, which can help reconstruct the sequence and route of the examination later.
What custody concerns apply to bodycam footage as evidence?+
The footage must be preserved unaltered from capture, with its timestamp and location metadata intact, and handled under the same chain-of-custody discipline as other digital evidence, since gaps, edits, or missing segments can be challenged in the same way as any other exhibit.
Related terms
- AI-Assisted Scene Mapping
- Computer-vision models that automatically detect, tag and locate evidence items in bodycam, drone or scanner feeds, producing a draft evidence log for...
- AR Walk-Through
- Augmented-reality overlay of evidence markers, measurements and notes onto a live or recorded view of the scene, viewable on tablet or headset.
- Bloodstain Pattern AI
- Trained models that classify bloodstain types (passive, transfer, impact, projected) and estimate impact angles from photographs, used as a triage aid before...
- Tele-Forensics
- Real-time video and data link between a crime-scene investigator and a remote forensic expert, allowing the expert to direct scene work as...
- VR Scene Reconstruction
- A fully immersive virtual model of the scene built from 3D scan and photogrammetry data, navigable in a headset for jurors, judges,...