Critics of body-worn cameras say they can't be counted on to reduce law-enforcement violence, nor provide greater transparency.

"They are not the reform that some would like them to be," wrote Dr. Jeff Shantz, department of criminology at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Surrey, in a recent letter to Black Press Media.

Overlay modifiers are markup strings that when present in overlay text strings are expanded according to their corresponding function.

It is possible to use modifiers starting with % in this dynamic text. Modifiers starting with # can however not be used.

The text overlay is a text field that can be included in the top or bottom of the video image from an Axis product. The functionality can be used for showing static text, pan, tilt and zoom coordinates, preset positions, bit rate, etc. In addition to that it is also allowed to insert dynamic text, for example from an application. The dynamic text is contained in the RAM memory only and is removed on boot.

The following table lists error codes that can be returned from this method. General errors are listed in Error handling.

By calling the list command a second time, the user receives information on all of the overlays, including the newly created overlay. In the description of the overlay is a variable called scalable that let the user know if the overlay is scale-to-resolution or not. Scale-to-resolution means that the image overlay re-scale based on the resolution of the video stream.

The Overlay API is used to access overlay functionality such as privacy masks, text overlay and image overlay. The API is divided into:

"We have bodycams at a number of our sites, and Newton BIA is one of them," noted Chris Mitchell, president and CEO of Commissionaires BC, a 97-year-old organization.

One new property, textOLColor is added for text overlays, possible values are "black", "white", "red", "transparent" and semiTransparent".

The following table lists error codes that can be returned from this method. General errors are listed under Error handling.

Dynamic text overlay can be inserted in the text overlay. Since dynamic text is saved in the RAM memory only is removed on boot.

Position array may contain up to Properties.PrivacyMask.MaxNbrOfCorners x/y pairs. If the privacy mask is not visible in the current camera position, an empty position array will be returned.

Disables all privacy masks. This is useful during an emergency when you want to make sure that nothing vital gets hidden behind a mask.

Starting the week of Nov. 25, Mission is the first RCMP detachment in B.C. to roll out the use of body-worn cameras, followed by Ucluelet, Tofino, Prince George, Cranbrook and Kamloops. In total, 3,000 officers in 144 detachments serving 150 municipalities will be using body-worn cameras in the province.

The following table lists general error that can occur for any CGI method. Errors that are specific for a method are listed under the API description for that method.

all_position is optional. If present, it will contain the values found in position, as well as any helper corners added by the service.

validateImageHeader will check if the image described by the parameters are supported, is of an acceptable file-size and that there are enough memory on the device. In cases where there are an invalid parameter, an error response is sent and the status code is set to reflect what the problem might be.

addText is used to create new text overlays. When creating an overlay using the CGI you may also specify properties at the same time.

Among business organizations in B.C., Aguirre said, "we're the only BIA where security guards use bodycams, definitely in Surrey, and I suspect in the rest of the province as well.

Dynamic overlay is used to configure different sorts of overlays in the Axis cameras and improves on the previously used param.cgi-based API by also being able to:

Modifiers can be used to format file names, folders for uploaded images, notification messages, text in image overlays and similar. A modifier always starts with a % or # character, followed by another character.

Meantime, criminologist Curt Griffiths says there's "very strong support" in Surrey for police officers to wear body cameras. He presented an executive summary of the results of a 2024 Surrey Police Service Community Consultation campaign during a Surrey Police Board meeting on Oct. 29.

This API will no longer receive updates. For a newer version on how to upload and manage images used for image overlays, see Overlay image API.

The following table lists error codes that can be returned from this method. General errors are listed in Error handling.

An overlay image is a static image superimposed over the video image. An overlay can for example be used to provide extra information, for example a logotype.

"The camera, the video, adds more security for your statement that yes, this actually did happen," Keller said. "It goes a long way, and it gives the members a lot of security as well so they're not playing a guessing game. It's safeguarding the member and the company as well because now it's getting everything in real time, it's uploading in real time. It protects everybody including the individual you're dealing with, yourself, the company. It's an amazing tool to have."

Please note that pixel coordinates for a corner that is outside the current camera view will have values that are negative or larger than the image´s resolution.

For action=upload the POST method must be used; the file content is provided in the HTTP body. The image file should be uploaded using Multipart/Form-Data as defined in RFC 1867.

setText is used to update parameters for a certain text overlay. The user may specify more than one parameter at any time. Optional parameters that are not supplied will not be charged.

The Overlay image API makes it possible for applications to upload and manage images used for image overlays and configure the default image used in stream profiles.

Please note that this method will disable all masks. If you wish to disable individual privacy masks you should use param.cgi.

"These cameras are not out there just sort of filming everything with data going," Mitchell said. "We have a whole legal infrastructure around that.… For example, if police wanted access to specific information pertaining to a specific event, that request would come to us, we would then access that information, provide the very concise (video) snip that's relevant to that incident to them. So it's a very tight process whereby the information is stored and accessed.

list all overlays created by the add CGIs and display both their IDs and other properties. If specified, properties for all overlays can be listed for a given camera or, if further specified, for a specific camera layer. The IDs may change for each overlay after a reboot. It is therefore recommended to check the current overlay ID with list before it is updated or removed.

setImage is used to update parameters for a certain image overlay. The user may specify more than one parameter at one time, however optional parameters that are not supplied will not be changed.

As body-worn cameras are rolled out at RCMP detachments across B.C. and are considered by Surrey Police, they've been worn for about a year by employees of a community safety patrol hired by Newton Business Improvement Association (BIA).

Pixel coordinates for a corner that is outside the current camera view will have values that are negative or larger than the image´s resolution.

Add a privacy mask named mask1 centered around 20% of the image width and 20% of the image height of the picture. Width and height are set in percent of the image size.

"Anybody can throw a bodycam on a guard, but it's how you manage the information that is the very important part of what we do."

The following table lists error codes that can be returned from this method. General errors are listed in Error handling.

Position array can contain up to Properties.PrivacyMask.MaxNbrOfCorners x/y pairs. If the privacy mask is not visible in the current camera position, an empty position array will be returned.

Add a privacy mask named mask1 to the center of the image. The width and height of the mask are set in percent of the image size.

a. Success respons example. The response gives a list of overlays with all corresponding properties. Note that scale-to-resolution overlays are only listed as a single directory as described in Add image overlays for the add image overlay usecase. If the overlay is scaled to the resolution, then the scalable property should be set to true.

"Bodycams are something that we're going to continue with, and it's great that other organizations like the RCMP are getting on board," added Aguirre, also the owner-operator of Old Surrey Restaurant on 72 Avenue.

"Criminological research finds that, at best, the outcomes of bodycam use are contradictory. Sometimes they are paradoxical. In some jurisdictions, studies even show police violence going up after the introduction of body cameras. For one thing, they do not show what the police actually do. They are positioned on officers and show their perspective. They can be turned off and on. There are questions about access to footage and about what happens with recorded data, including video of bystanders."

Overlay IDs may change after a reboot. This is because the overlay system always uses the lowest available number, starting from 1.

The Dynamic overlay API replaces the previously used Image overlay and Text overlay API that were both using the param.cgi parameter.

"It's been hugely successful," raved Philip Aguirre, BIA executive director. "We've always looked for ways to improve and be on the cutting edge of how we can improve the community. Bodycams were a no-brainer for us that we wanted to provide security for our members.

The implementation uses the same resources as param.cgi. It is possible to use dynamicoverlay.cgi to change overlays created with param.cgi and vice versa. However, using both dynamicoverlay.cgi and param.cgi for overlay handling may lead to unexpected behavior.

The API consists of a CGI enabling a user to control the underlaying dynamic overlays. There is one CGI request that implements a number of methods and to which the responses are in the JSON format.

In Newton Town Centre, four of the company's 1,300 security guards in B.C. are employed to daily patrol the business district in teams of two, as part of a safety program launched nine years ago by the BIA.

addImage is used to create new image overlays. When creating an overlay using the CGI you may also specify properties at the same time.

"Ideally," he added, "the body camera is a deterrent and you're going into an altercation that has been requested by the business community, a phone call or a passive patrol, and the bodycam is deescalating the scenario. The person can see the camera and that the blue light is on, indicating that they are being filmed, and ideally that scenario is then deescalated and their compliance is through the roof and they move along, which is great."

Privacy masking is a feature that makes it possible to mask out, i.e. cover areas in the picture that should not be visible to the viewers, such as the face of a person, logotypes and license plates. The masks will adapt their position and size when the cameras pan/tilt/zoom position changes to make sure that areas that have been masked remain that way.

The following table lists error codes that can be returned from this method. General errors are listed in Error handling.

zoom_visible is optional. If present, it will indicate whether the position polygon is visible due to the zoomlowlimit setting.

The Dynamic overlay API gives applications and users the ability to both get and set overlay configurations in the Axis cameras. Each overlay in the camera is identified by an ID which is returned upon creation. An overlay can be either text, image or special overlays that are provided by other applications, such as the Privacy mask API. It is also possible to remove overlays created by the API. The special overlays can not be configured from this API.

There currently exist two ways to create privacy masks. One is by using privacymask.cgi and the other by using param.cgi. Some functions, such as color and mosaic scale, can only be set using param.cgi, which means that some products will be using both.

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Patrol members are contracted through Commissionaires BC, a private not-for-profit company whose security team takes on "non-core police duties" in the neighbourhood, allowing for local police "to take on more critical issues," according to a post on the BIA's website.

getOverlayCapabilities returns the number of total overlay slots, the number of slots occupied per text overlay and the number of slots occupied per image overlay.

Mitchell underlined that video data from Commissionaires' body-worn cameras is securely stored offsite and retrieved "on a case-by-case request basis" by police and the courts.

a) Successful response example. The response list all available images. For each image a path identifying the image and a flag indicating the scaleWithResolution status is provided.

An overlay can contain several bitmap images to be adaptable to different resolutions. By calling the list command, the user receives a list showing all of the available pictures.

The shape of a privacy mask is defined by a list of corner coordinates that either forms a rectangle or a polygon. Which form that is supported is described by a property parameter.

Use image-%F-%H-%M-%S.jpg so timestamp uploaded video snapshots with the date, hour, minute and second the snapshot was taken.

The following table lists error codes that can be returned form this method. General errors are listed in Error handling.

Use this example to add text overlays with transparent backgrounds, in this case one at the top left corner of the video that shows timestamps and another at the right bottom corner that shows the address and location of the camera.

All existing properties and values of the current text and image overlays from param.cgi will be supported with only changes as follows: