AUSTIN -- Austin police officers are getting new iPhones that activate their body cameras.
Monday was the first day of the phase out as 400 officers in the downtown substation got them first. The iPhones are automatically activated when patrol car doors open, which in turn activates the body cameras.
APD Commander Brent Dupre with the Technology Unit said the iPhones will allow officers to view their body cam footage in the field instantly.
Before, officers in certain units like Mounted Patrol, Bike Patrol and Motors, have to wait until their get back to the office. Other officers would view body cam video on their computers in their patrol cars.
Commander Dupre said the cell phones should improve officer report writing accuracy and efficiency.
"Everything that we're looking at will reduce the amount of time officers are spending writing reports and doing administrative work to return them back into service so that they can help engage in community engagement," said Commander Dupre.
Police said officers won't be able to download social media apps.
"They are controlled from the backend, from our side, from the management side, on what is put on the phones. We can add apps, we can take apps away and they will just appear on the officers' phones once they connect to WiFi," said Commander Dupre.
Austin police are also testing out mounts for body cameras right now.
Police said even before last week's beating incident of Justin Grant, where at least one body camera fell off an officer, they were already testing body camera mounts.
They said the issue is with the magnetic mounts. They are now testing mounts with clips.
All officers will have the new iPhone 7 pluses in a couple of weeks.