Mobile Units

When a police video system is installed in a police car this opens up a whole new era in video verification. Some portable Blood Alcohol detectors have the ability to output the BAC level of prospective DUI/DWI violators in a digital format. The industry standard is RS-232. This data is sent to a VSI+ device, which reads the data and overlays the information on a video image. The VSI+ connects between the camera and the VCR so it therefore can be retrofitted to any in car video system. The officer will instruct the person to blow into the Breathalyzer in front of the camera that is usually mounted in the windshield facing forward. Some vehicles if equipped with a backseat camera and microphone can have the test done in the back seat of the police vehicle. The later case is recommended because the Breathalyzer can then be wired directly in the vehicle for the data to the VSI+. In both cases, this complete video record of the test along with the officer, violator, vehicle and location of incident make for an ironclad case for the prosecutor.

Station Units

Most police stations have a special room setup for DUI/DWI violators where the interview and Breathalyzer test are issued. This room usually has video cameras that are recording the entire interview. The VSI+ can be connected between the camera and the VCR. The breathalyzers used here most commonly have the RS-232 output since they are of higher quality than the portable units. This RS-232 output is then wired to the VSI+ and the data from the test is then overlayed on the video image of the entire event. This system saves time since all the PD needs to do is give the attorneys the tape, instead of a certified copy of the test results. Of course the test results can also be given but usually not required in most cases. This video record eliminates and argument the test results were not from the video tape recording.

Summary

The RS-232 outputs of the BAC breathalyzers used today are standard RS-232. This printable data connects directly to the VSI+ without any special formatting. If the data is required to be specially formatted this can be done by AVE with a fee involved depending on the complexity. The data can be saved to a laptop computer and sent to AVE for evaluation. The VSI+ also has exception processing. This feature allows the VSI+ to be programmed to output an alarm or signal when the BAC level exceeds the legal limit. This can then mark the video tape recorder for later fast retrieval of all violators via alarm search features of most Time Lapse VCRs. (Click here to go to the VSI+ operation manual for more details.)

Prosecutor of Texas, LLC.
1906 Treble Dr. Humble, Texas
prosecutoroftexas@policevideo.com
281-446-9010 fax: 281-446-9013
800-482-9211