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OpenBWC: Open Body-Worn Camera

The open-source backbone of the body-worn camera ecosystem — using AI to analyze footage ethically and transparently for evidence-based policing reform.

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REC OPENBWC

99% of Body-Worn Camera footage is never reviewed.

The vast majority of footage captures officers simply doing their jobs—a reality that stays hidden due to privacy laws and massive data volume.

● We're building privacy-preserving analysis to change that.

What We Build

Body-worn cameras record far more video than anyone could watch. Our research tools help analysts, trainers, and researchers find the moments that matter.

Visual Timelines

Breaks long recordings into short segments labeled by context and activity level, so reviewers can jump to key moments instead of watching hours of video.

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Speech Transcription

Turns what is said on camera into text, even through sirens, radio chatter, and background noise, using affordable off-the-shelf hardware.

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Searchable Footage

Lets reviewers ask questions about footage in plain language and get answers that cite the exact moments they came from.

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Structured Reports

Turns the written narratives in police reports into organized, evidence-linked facts, after removing personal identifiers.

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Our Mission

We use open-source machine learning, computer vision, and natural language processing to accurately interpret police body-worn camera footage.

Ethical AI

Using transparent, open-source technologies to ensure accountability and fairness in every analysis.

Evidence-Based

Identifying behavioral patterns through rigorous analysis to support data-driven policy reform.

Transparent

Open-source methodology that anyone can review, audit, and contribute to for collective improvement.

Open Where It Counts, Private Where It Matters

We keep our methods open for anyone to inspect, while sensitive footage stays under the control of the people it belongs to.

What's Public

Our algorithms, models, and insights are open source — free to review, audit, and build on.

What's Private

Agencies keep control of their footage. Body-worn camera footage is never collected or shared through OpenBWC.

Built to Run Offline

Our tools are designed to run locally, so sensitive footage never has to leave the agency's own systems.

Trusted Partnerships & Support

We are grateful for the support of the following organizations

Partner Organizations

Our Sponsors

Support Our Mission

Interested in supporting OpenBWC's work in ethical AI and policing reform? We'd love to hear from you.

Become a Sponsor

Press Room

Latest updates, features, and announcements from the OpenBWC team.

RIT News

RIT scientists developing machine learning techniques to analyze body-worn camera footage

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Rochester Beacon

RIT gets $1M to analyze body-worn camera footage

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RIT Spotlights

Machine learning meets law enforcement in RIT research project

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Rochester First

RIT professor to use machine learning techniques for body cam analysis

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Rochester Business Journal

RIT, RPD partnership looks at AI methods to analyze body-worn camera footage

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WHEC News 10

RIT scientists develop technology to analyze police body cam footage

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13 WHAM

RIT teaming with Rochester Police to analyze body-worn camera footage

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Get Involved

Help build a more transparent and accountable future for law enforcement through open-source AI analysis.

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