London's Metropolitan Police announced Thursday that wearable cameras made by Taser will be tested by 500 police officers.
The tests aim to see whether the cameras will bring justice for victims faster, according to The Associated Press.
"Our experience of using cameras already shows that people are more likely to plead guilty when they know we have captured the incident," said Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe. "That speeds up justice, puts offenders behind bars more quickly and protects potential victims."
Officers attach the Taser AXON Body Camera to their belts or shirts and use it to continuously record on a 30-second loop. Officers in 10 boroughs in London are wearing the cameras.
The pilot program will last for one year, Venturebeat reported.
"People behave better when they're being filmed," said Steve Tuttle, spokesman for Taser. "Cops and ordinary people."
Tuttle brought up a Cambridge University blind study that involved 114 officers in the Rialto, Calif., police department wearing cameras. The study found that citizen complaints decreased by 80 percent and the use of force by the police decreased by 58 percent.
Tuttle said the cameras help to compel "better behaviors on both sides, [because] transparency cuts both ways."
The Body includes a 130-degree lens, which gives officers a wide field of view. The device can record for over 12 hours under normal battery operation, The Associated Press reported.
The camera can be turned on by pressing a button or sliding a switch across the top. It also features a sticker showing they are recording video and audio.
Officers in London must inform people that they are recording, and people can request that the cameras be turned off, Venturebeat reported. Tuttle said police in many U.S. states don't have to stop recording.
The Body's pixels capture light with a sensitivity that equals that of the human retina, which makes it easier to see footage from incidents at night, The Associated Press reported.
At the end of their shifts, officers will upload the material from their cameras to a cloud-based server. After 31 days, the footage will be deleted unless there is a request to keep it for evidence.
