Combat Camera in Seine-Saint-Denis

The IDF did it on the Philadelphi Route when clearing tunnel entrances. Hezbollah did it in Southern Lebanon on ambushes. Now the French police are doing it in Seine-Saint-Denis, a rough suburb of Paris: equipping forward-deployed units with mini-cameras.

Mobile phones with digital cameras have become ubiquitous. Not only in far-away combat zones, but also in trouble spots at home. Until now, those at the receiving end of law-enforcement had the pictures and they had YouTube. So the police are often on the receiving end of the imagery. That sometimes makes the cops look as if they have something to hide. The minicams are meant to end this impasse.

The French-made ear-borne gadgets are smaller than 5cm, weigh less than 100g, have an angle of 45°, last for 3h, cost a little less than €1,000, and start filming at the push of a button. Le Figaro has a picture of one.

“This equipment allows us to establish the context of our interventions,” said Christian Charlot, a police captain in the suburb. “It allows us to support our procedures but also to deter these people from acting in the first place, because when they know they are filmed, hostile groups are less aggressive.” Apparently police officers were skeptical at first, but now even ask for the gadgets.

Such measures will not become standard routine, most likely. Yet they might be useful at times. Clearly Taliban wouldn’t be deterred by cameras. But how often are tactics like this used in Afghanistan? What are the experiences? For the purposes of the IDF in the Gaza, it apparently worked well. But of course it comes with its own risks.

Tags: Policing, France, Gangs, Combat Camera