Discussion on the Sustainable Development of Body Worn Camera Industry

Release Time:

2015-06-09

In recent years, with the rapid development of mobile internet and mobile media, the phenomenon of uncivilized law enforcement by individual law enforcement officers has been frequently exposed, causing a negative impact on regular law enforcement. Against this backdrop, the social call for transparent and civilized law enforcement has become increasingly louder and has received a response from relevant national institutions. With the increasing acceptance of civilized law enforcement among frontline law enforcement officers, the market for law enforcement recorders is poised to enter a period of explosive growth. Cao Yongjun, Vice President of the Law Enforcement Recorder Innovation Alliance and Chairman of ZECN Intensified Disorderly Market Competition Cao Yongjun, Chairman of ZECN, believes that from the perspective of market analysis of law enforcement recorders, mobile devices are in a state of rapid growth, but there is also a trend of disorderly competition. The main reason is that with the expansion and opening up of the law enforcement recorder market, there are now a large number of manufacturers in the market. According to the list of qualified suppliers purchased by the Ministry of Public Security, there are nearly 100 registered companies that can participate in the bidding for law enforcement recorders. Due to differences in scale and industry, these companies lack a good grasp of industry development and interests. Many manufacturers pursue profit without considering the contribution of their products to industry development, resulting in serious product homogeneity in the market. Companies copy and imitate each other's product functions. If a company introduces a new function, other manufacturers will imitate and plagiarize it, ultimately leading to similar product functions and declining profits. Trend Towards Holistic Procurement As the largest purchaser of law enforcement recorders, the procurement model is also undergoing a subtle change. It has shifted from unified procurement by provincial departments to the allocation of funds to various municipal and county bureaus for independent procurement. This is mainly to consider that each public security system can select products based on its own needs, increasing the effectiveness and flexibility of product selection. For example, a provincial department may find a device to be good, but various municipal and branch bureaus may find it unsuitable, leading to wasted procurement. However, for the industry, due to the openness of law enforcement recorders in bidding and the low entry barrier, when procurement power is delegated, small-scale manufacturers and workshops in remote and underdeveloped markets will have opportunities to develop. However, the future trend is towards a more holistic procurement approach. Purchasers will list their procurement requirements, including product configuration requirements, manufacturer qualification review, and for some large projects, software, certification, and authorization requirements. The procurement of law enforcement recorders will move from single products to a systematic approach, including law enforcement recorders, law enforcement collection stations, and law enforcement management platforms. Unscientific Parameters and Poor R&D by Small Enterprises Judging from the equipment parameters advertised by exhibitors at trade shows, many manufacturers do not objectively express the true situation of the parameters. For example, the lens and photosensitive chip used in law enforcement recorders do not support the advertised pixels. Even if some chips support such high pixels, they cannot achieve the desired effect. Therefore, the photographed pixels obtained through some unscientific testing methods, such as 16 million pixels, 20 million pixels, and 34 million pixels, are not scientific. The competent authorities have also seen the drawbacks of this industry phenomenon, so this reference has been removed from the new industry standard. The newly formulated standard for law enforcement recorders will shift from single products to systematic products and system engineering, providing overall solutions. Customers currently use systems and equipment, some newly purchased and some previously purchased, which places demands on manufacturers in terms of system integration, connection, and compatibility. If a company lacks R&D capabilities, it may fall behind if its technical services in large-scale system management platforms cannot keep up. Last year, a requirement was put forward that equipment must be equipped with a management system. Therefore, since last year, many small-scale manufacturers have faced greater survival pressure. Increased Usage Rate of Law Enforcement Recorders on the Frontline In previous years, market feedback indicated that the usage rate of mobile devices assigned to the frontline was not high, and most were piled up in warehouses. However, the situation has greatly improved. First, this is related to the national background and top-level design. General Secretary Xi Jinping's call for the rule of law and the construction of standardized law enforcement reflects a top-down recognition of the help that law enforcement recorders bring to the entire law enforcement system in terms of standardized law enforcement. This also reflects the leadership's recognition of the importance of law enforcement recorders. Future law enforcement should be civilized and open. Second, at the frontline level, the initial wearing of law enforcement recorders did not attract much attention, and some personnel may have misinterpreted the meaning of the leadership, thinking that the equipment was to supervise their law enforcement behavior, possibly magnifying negative issues. However, with the publicity and popularization of standardized law enforcement construction, frontline perceptions have changed. From initially wearing them at the leadership's request, they now actively wear them, realizing the convenience and benefits brought by law enforcement recorders. Finally, from the ministries and commissions to provincial and municipal bureaus, a consensus has been reached—to increase the allocation of products. From the original several devices per person to the requirement of one device per frontline officer next year, and from the original purchase and storage to the current law enforcement officers feeling the benefits of wearing them, reflects that fairness and justice are becoming a social need and reflects the development of China's standardized law enforcement process. “Internet Plus” Redefines the Law Enforcement Recorder Market The transition of law enforcement recorders from small-batch high-profit to large-batch low-profit reflects the market's maturation. However, the disorderly competition among a large number of manufacturers now makes it difficult for many products to even achieve low profits. Therefore, seeking differentiated competition and developing high-end products to meet users' intelligent and customized business needs requires companies to invest in innovation and breakthroughs. For example, the currently developed intelligent law enforcement recorders upgrade the product from a simple and ordinary one to a high-definition and intelligent one. By redefining the law enforcement recorder market through “Internet Plus”, law enforcement recorders are divided into ordinary and intelligent law enforcement recorders. Therefore, in the process of transitioning from low profits to reasonable profits, whether manufacturers can use technological innovation to achieve increased revenue and value reflects a company's core competitiveness in independent innovation. Currently, the profit of intelligent law enforcement recorders is higher than that of ordinary law enforcement recorders, not only in terms of hardware functions but also in their powerful internet and mobile internet technologies, as well as powerful backend management systems and overall solutions, which will lead to an overall improvement in product performance. Application of Internet Technology in Intelligent Law Enforcement Recorders The application of mobile internet technology in intelligent law enforcement recorders is mainly reflected in the following points: First, it must meet the actual needs and future development requirements of customers. Law enforcement agencies must ensure that the equipment provides effective value. From the original audio and video recording, many law enforcement agencies now ask whether it is possible to transmit the scene images to the command center in real time. This involves 3G/4G image transmission technology, which is one of the essential functions of intelligent law enforcement recorders. Second, to improve the work efficiency of law enforcement officers, the product must be convenient. Previously, during law enforcement, it was necessary to record information and then process it at the detachment or police station. Now, on-site handling is possible. For example, when checking illegal vehicles, information can be entered and fines issued on-site, avoiding frequent trips between the scene and the office, improving efficiency. Third, in terms of network connection, it used to be voice connection, but now it is network connection. The advantage is that the conversation content can be recorded and replayed, and during the call, manual operation is not required, which is very convenient. Network intercom can also establish separate groups to achieve real-time intercom over a wide area or even globally. Finally, in terms of positioning, intelligent law enforcement recorders can use electronic maps and Beidou positioning information to transmit the location of law enforcement officers in real time for management. In addition, when encountering difficulties during law enforcement, the electronic fence function can be used to dispatch nearby personnel for support. The Law Enforcement Recorder Market is Expanding From the market development trend, law enforcement recorders have extended to fire protection, sanitation, urban management, and traffic, expanding from a single department to law enforcement agencies nationwide. In March 2015, the State Council issued a document requiring all law enforcement agencies to be equipped with law enforcement terminals by the end of 2017, indicating that the number of user units is increasing, and procurement demand will also increase. Another market increase is from the original several people sharing one law enforcement recorder to the current requirement of one device per department member, which has implicitly increased the demand several times. In the overseas market, the shooting of a black boy in the Ferguson case in the United States has drawn the attention of the US government to law enforcement records, and hundreds of millions of dollars have been allocated to purchase related products. Therefore, the United States is paying attention to this field and gradually increasing its procurement efforts. As the world's policeman, the exemplary behavior of the United States will influence other countries. Therefore, the global market window for law enforcement recorders has opened. As a leader in the law enforcement recorder industry, we must not only make good products but also establish a Chinese image in the world and build a Chinese brand in the international market. Undoubtedly, the market for law enforcement recorders will become increasingly larger, and it will also promote the process of standardized law enforcement in China and the world. Mainstream law enforcement recorder manufacturers should develop products based on user needs, use the “Internet Plus” thinking and the concept of mass innovation and entrepreneurship to lead the entire law enforcement recorder industry to continuously move forward.