Upgrade to Norwalk Police Department body cameras allows them to translate 56 languages
The department says it has already decided to make the 90-day pilot program permanent.
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The Norwalk Police Department received upgrades to its body cameras in mid-January that allows them to translate 56 different languages.
"We felt this was very worthwhile and it would be a force multiplier in the City of Norwalk, due to our diverse population," said James Walsh, the city's chief of police.
Officers only need to hit a button on the side and tell them the language, and they are able to have a full conversation through the camera.
In the past, the NPD says if an officer was dealing with a language barrier at a scene, they would have to call for an interpreter, then wait for them to get there.
"It would make the process kind of cumbersome," Walsh admitted.
Thanks to the cameras, the process now takes a matter of seconds, without any extra support.
"This gives us immediate communications during not only calls for disturbance, emergency situations, interviewing witnesses, interviewing victims of crimes, even just basic calls of car accidents," said Walsh.
Beyond saving time, he says he hopes the technology will also help build trust in the community.
"This is a huge tool to that," Walsh said. "(It) provides an ease to the people at times, when they know they're able to communicate to the officer when they need help the most."
Technically, the software is currently on a 90-day pilot program, but Walsh says it has been going so well that the NPD has already decided to make it permanent, which he says will cost around $82,000 each year.
"The cost shouldn't really matter, because we're providing communication that wasn't there before, and it all starts with communication," Walsh said. "It was a no-brainer decision for the police department to implement this program."
