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April 2008
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Manhattan Beach PD has issued PUMA II Digital Recorders to all
Department personnel to record suspect statements, witness
interviews and noteworthy encounters with members of the public
during law enforcement activities. The department feels that the
ability to record official encounter with the PUMA II Digital
Recorders will have a significant impact on successful criminal
prosecutions and can reduce the amount of time necessary to
investigate frivolous personnel complaints. Currently, the Police
Department uses the IN-Car Mobile Video System (MVS) to record
official encounters with the public; however, the recording
capability is limited by distance and virtually no reception once
an officer enters a dwelling.
When researching the various systems
available, it became apparent to the Manhattan Beach Department
that several features would be required in any product chosen.
The first requirement being that the recorder does not allow
editing, which ensures that the recordings cannot be appended
should they be needed as evidence in future court proceedings or
for personnel investigations. It needs to be housed in a rugged
case to eliminate accidental erasures when dropped or impacted.
In addition, it requires a centralized software system for the
management and cataloging of the recordings that are downloaded to
provide better access to the information. Thus download files are
automatically marked with the recorder’s date and time. Each
digital recording is electronically assigned to each officer via
an electronic serial number embedded within the recorded file.
The only product that met all
specifications is the PUMA
The Manhattan Beach Police
Department has been proudly serving their community for over 60
years. The Police Department is headquartered at a NEW,
state-of-the-art Police and Fire Safety Facility, housing the
latest in public safety technology. MBPD employs approximately 65
sworn and 35 civilian full-time employees, and operates under two
divisions - Administration/Investigations and Field Operations.
The Department is led by Chief of Police Rod Uyeda and is
supported by two Captains and
four Lieutenants.
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