november 2025
// Video Solutions
Making a Case for Reselling Body-Worn Cameras
Body-worn cameras can be a good fit for enterprise, institutional, and commercial applications, offering fast deployment and irrefutable first-person coverage as part of existing video management systems.
By Laura Stepanek, SDM Contributing Writer
Body cameras proactively protect frontline workers, such as those in schools or hospitals, by clearly documenting situations and avoiding “he said, she said” scenarios. Image courtesy of Motorola Solutions
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Though often overlooked, the resale of body-worn cameras offers a promising business opportunity for security integrators. The use of these cameras in recent years has gone beyond law enforcement into segments like retail, transportation, gaming and hospitality, and several other markets.
Body-worn cameras address problems that few other products can solve: they can be deployed rapidly and scaled easily to fill gaps in surveillance coverage. As a complement to fixed surveillance cameras, body-worn cameras may be integrated on the same video management system (VMS) or security platform as stationary cameras.
And though it may be a bit more complicated to demonstrate their return on investment, body-worn cameras’ value is becoming more apparent as they’ve become easier to implement and use. All things considered, body-worn cameras give security integrators a distinct advantage in presenting a fully integrated security solution.
How Body-Worn Cameras Are Sold & Implemented
Traditional security integrators may get involved with body-worn cameras in one of two ways, or both:
- As an integrator that also operates a guarding service for its customers, to outfit officers with the cameras.
- As an integrator-reseller of body-worn cameras, integrating them into a total security solution for customers.
For example, Motorola Solutions sells its body cameras to integrators, who then sell and deploy them to their customers. The manufacturer also works directly with integrators who are end users themselves, such as large security firms who purchase Motorola’s body-worn cameras to equip their own security officers.
“We see our role as providing the innovative technology and support, while our partners help provide the expert consultation, installation, and ongoing services that their customers rely on,” says Clay Cassard, vice president, global enterprise strategic sales, Motorola Solutions, Chicago. “This approach helps our end users receive a comprehensive, expertly deployed solution.”
Axis Communications’ go-to-market strategy for body-worn cameras “is built on partnership, enablement, and integration, positioning body-worn as a strategic extension of existing security infrastructure rather than a standalone device,” says Olga Diaz, business development manager of body-worn solutions at the Chelmsford, Mass.-based company.
In playing out that strategy, channel partners such as integrators resell body-worn cameras as part of an Axis solution, “enabling them to tie body-worn directly into the platforms they are already trusted to deliver, such as fixed surveillance systems, VMS, access control, audio, and intercom solutions,” Diaz explains.
i-PRO Americas has strong relationships with integrator-resellers, says David O’Connor, director of product management for public safety at the Houston, Texas-based manufacturer. It’s no different with the company’s body-worn cameras. A potential customer that i-PRO has observed having increased interest in body-worns is an integrator-reseller that also operates a security services practice. O’Connor calls these hybrid businesses.
“For those unique partners who also provide true security services — and by that, we mean security officers or security guards who are maybe rotating from site to site or specifically responsible for one location and doing rounds — those partners have found it potentially valuable to equip their staff with body cameras as part of their overall service offering to their customers,” O’Connor says. It enhances the value of their service to their clientele if their security officers can document what they’ve seen and heard on their rounds with video and audio recording.
Whereas most installed surveillance cameras provide video without audio, almost all body-worn cameras on the market are capable of recording both video and audio. This supplies additional context of situations on the ground, where the audio likely is going to be more perceptible than if it were recorded from an installed camera with a mic that may or may not be close enough to the area of interest.
Audio recording, however, brings considerations about compliance with regulations and privacy laws. O’Connor, who also spoke with SDM in 2024 on this issue, addressed privacy at that time. “Since audio can be a key component of recordings generated by wearable devices, it is essential to consider that laws regarding audio recording and privacy differ from those governing video,” he recommends. “Prior to implementation, it is crucial to engage with union or employee groups to build consensus."
Adding body-worn cameras to their portfolio of solutions gives security integrators a unique opportunity to integrate fixed camera systems, mobile systems (body-worn cameras), and perhaps even a transit solution for vehicle security, O’Connor believes. “All of those cameras and systems can tie back into the single video management platform, instead of having a body camera on system A, a camera on the wall on system B, and a camera in a bus on system C,” he says. “Instead, i-PRO customers can go to a single platform and utilize all of those types of deployments.”
“We see our role as providing the innovative technology and support, while our partners help provide the expert consultation, installation, and ongoing services that their customers rely on. This approach helps our end users receive a comprehensive, expertly deployed solution.”
— Clay Cassard, Motorola Solutions
Body-Worn Cameras Present Cross-Industry Sales Potential
In an increasing number of industries, body cameras protect staff members and businesses as a whole from liability claims and human error. Image courtesy of Axis Communications
When we think of body-worn devices, most people picture law enforcement officers using them to capture interactions with the public. But body-worn technology has proved it offers key advantages in other industries, too, according to product manufacturers.
“While law enforcement was one of the earliest adopters of body-worn technology, we’re now seeing rapid adoption across several commercial and enterprise sectors,” says Olga Diaz of Axis Communications.
Examining the segments in which body-worn cameras are being used today can help security integrators aim for potential sales:
Private security/guarding services: Contract security companies want to demonstrate accountability to their clients, reduce liability claims, and provide transparency in day-to-day patrols, which body-worns allow them to do effectively, Diaz says.
Gaming and hospitality: Casinos, hotels, and resorts are environments with frequent customer interactions and potential conflict. Body-worn cameras help protect staff, provide valuable evidence for incident investigations, and deter aggressive behavior, according to Diaz.
Healthcare: Hospitals, urgent care, and behavioral health facilities are adopting body-worn cameras to support staff safety, reduce workplace violence, and provide transparency in patient interactions, Diaz explains.
Retail: High-traffic retail stores use body-worn devices to deter theft, reduce confrontations with customers, and document incidents for liability protection, Diaz says.
Education: On campuses, body-worn cameras deter misconduct, support staff such as attendance officers and vehicle operators, and provide verification and documentation. They also integrate with local law enforcement systems and aid in training and situational response, Diaz describes.
Stadiums and venues: At sporting or concert stadiums and at other venues, body-worn devices deter unwanted behavior and provide an unbiased record of incidents, David O’Connor of i-PRO Americas says.
“If I look at stadium/venue, education, and campus security in particular, the focus in those segments is so much more on the personal interaction of staff with the public or customers,” O’Connor says. “I think we have a couple of different benefits. One is the perceived deterrent of a camera. … As opposed to a camera that’s off in the distance that I may not even think about, now I see that the person I’m dealing with is actually wearing a camera that’s recording me: how I’m acting, how I’m speaking, my behavior in general. And at the same time, if behavior is out of bounds, they’re preserving an unbiased record of what happened.” O’Connor adds that the benefits there may be protection from false allegations and liability.
The other valuable aspect of recording personal interactions is the clear video and audio from an up-close vantage point, giving the context of what led up to an event, O’Connor says.
Transportation: Airports and transit systems adopt body-worns to manage crowd control, ensure employee safety, and monitor compliance, according to Diaz.
Logistics hubs: Distribution centers, warehouses, and delivery operations benefit from body-worn cameras for incident documentation, workforce safety, training opportunities, and verification of service in high-traffic, high-value environments, Diaz says.
Utilities: Body-worn cameras have a greater emphasis on safety and compliance at utility sites than perhaps in other industries, O’Connor says.
Both the transportation and utility segments often have a more safety-based focus for using body-worn cameras, which may revolve around things such as driving practices and safety protocols, O’Connor says. “In the transportation space — and in the utility space, where maybe our team is entering a closed utility location for inspection or for repair — we might be able to either join them on-site via video consultation if they’re doing something that’s new to them and they have a question,” he says. “It may just be a recording that preserves and documents that all procedures were followed and that could aid in a post-event investigation, or it could be part of training. There are lots of different benefits to having that kind of recording.”
Public events: Municipal market segments could encompass a wide range of applications. One general advantage of using body-worns in cities is the flexibility of being able to get a point of view closer to where an event is happening, since installed cameras may not always be located near events such as celebrations or disturbances. “That benefit extends across all the different segments,” O’Connor says.
In particular, the retail, healthcare, and hospitality segments have obvious benefits, says Clay Cassard of Motorola Solutions. “Workers in these settings regularly face safety concerns — from unwelcome behavior to theft and medical emergencies — and body cameras [can act not only] as a deterrent but as a de-escalation tool with a direct connection to help,” he says. “Additionally, body cameras provide an objective record of incidents, which is essential for legal and liability purposes.”
Diaz concludes, “The advantage across these industries is that body-worn technology creates a layer of accountability and safety where fixed cameras cannot always capture events, particularly in mobile or close-contact environments.”
Discover the Points to Making Sales
Outlining the advantages of body-worn cameras enables security integrators to develop a compelling set of selling points. “Body-worn cameras bring several key benefits that resonate across industries,” Diaz says.
Transparency and accountability: Body-worn cameras can provide unbiased evidence of interactions, which helps protect both the employee and the organization, Diaz says.
They can protect team members from false allegations of misconduct, O’Connor concurs.
Deterrence and de-escalation: The visible presence of a body-worn camera can de-escalate situations before they escalate into conflict, thus reducing workplace violence and contributing to a safer environment for end users, Diaz explains.
“Overall, body cameras can help deter unwanted behavior, de-escalate situations, and provide a record of incidents,” Cassard says. He points to Motorola’s V200 model. It has a GoLive Audio feature, which can engage security personnel or a supervisor, who then can access live video and audio and interject through the camera’s speaker in real time.
Quick and flexible deployment: Body-worn cameras can quickly and easily add a view in a particular area where an installed camera doesn’t exist, O’Connor says. “[In addition], they can scale quickly and easily for special events in areas where you might have a concentration of activity,” he adds.
Special events often occur in wide-open spaces with team members and security staff on the ground in and amongst the crowds, O’Connor describes. In such cases, a body-worn camera is a very valuable tool, especially as a situation unfolds — whether it’s escalated voices or fighting or an emergency — because the wearer can quickly go to that location and ostensibly see and record things that would be missed by other cameras, he says.
Although fixed security cameras are capable of panning, tilting, and zooming, they still are limited by their stationary placement and cannot dynamically shift their point of view. Body-worn cameras, on the other hand, offer superb flexibility by capturing live video and audio directly from the point of interaction, making them ideal for dynamic applications like crowd management or customer service.
Filling gaps: Even if a very comprehensive, traditional surveillance system is installed, body-worn cameras can fill in gaps in coverage. This is especially true if they’re deployed on a campus with reliable wireless connectivity. “If I have team members who go places where I lose sight of them and I don’t have a good record of what they’ve been doing, nor would I be able to see what they see, [body-worn cameras can address this issue],” O’Connor says.
Integration with security: One of the most valuable advantages of body-worn cameras is that they can be integrated with other products on a VMS or another security platform. There is even a possibility for additional integrations beyond a VMS. For example, “Axis body-worn cameras are designed to seamlessly integrate with video management systems, access control, and evidence management platforms, creating a unified security ecosystem,” Diaz says.
Operational insight: Beyond security, recorded interactions can be used for staff training, compliance monitoring, and improving customer service, according to Diaz. “The problems solved include liability reduction, dispute resolution, compliance with regulations and employee safety,” she says. “Integrators can confidently position body-worn as a tool that prevents incidents, protects reputations, and streamlines investigations.”
“The problems solved include liability reduction, dispute resolution, compliance with regulations and employee safety. Integrators can confidently position body-worn as a tool that prevents incidents, protects reputations, and streamlines investigations.”
— Olga Diaz, Axis Communications
Manufacturers’ Resources Range From Training to Engineering
With technical training, marketing, sales collateral, and more, manufacturers have various resources to help integrators resell body cameras. Image courtesy of i-PRO Americas
You don’t have to go at it alone. As a new — or even an experienced — reseller of body-worn cameras, security integrators can lean on their manufacturer partners for support. In addition to training, some of the resources they offer even extend to the end users.
Axis Communications offers sales and technical training courses and programs, marketing and sales collateral, and integration tools and APIs that support seamless integration of body-worn cameras to VMS, evidence management, or enterprise platforms. The company also has demo kits and proof-of-concept support — tools that let integrators demonstrate body-worn technology in live environments.
“By equipping integrators with these resources, we ensure they can build sustainable revenue streams around body-worn while delivering measurable outcomes for their customers,” says Olga Diaz of Axis Communications.
Motorola Solutions has a partner portal, training and certification opportunities, co-marketing programs, and technical support in its suite of resources to ensure partners are successful regardless of what they’re selling, says Clay Cassard of Motorola Solutions.
In addition to extensive sales and technical training, i-PRO Americas helps integrators support their clients by letting them tap into the i-PRO professional services. “So, if they’re not as familiar with body cameras and they’d like to engage solution architects, systems engineers, training — whatever it is for their end users — they can simply resell an i-PRO service to fill the gap,” says David O’Connor of i-PRO Americas. “Maybe they can do the training, but they’re not comfortable doing the implementation or the configuration, so they might use a half-day … or something like that for the professionals’ team to bring the cameras and make sure that they’re all working. We can do it all, or we can take different pieces and parts that help round it out for the integrator.”
Addressing Customers’ Objections
Despite the benefits, some end users are hesitant about adopting body-worn camera technology. Common objections include compliance with privacy laws, best practices for managing data, potential operational complexity, and cost.
These are the same types of questions public safety agencies wrestled with when body cameras were first introduced nearly 20 years ago, Cassard says.
Privacy: Employees may worry about being recorded continuously, while organizations must balance transparency with privacy rights, Diaz summarizes. “Clear usage policies, the ability to redact images, and limited recording modes help address this,” she says.
Body-worn cameras don’t have to be complicated. Most organizations already manage video from fixed surveillance systems; those same policies can be extended to cover first-person video, Cassard says. “Cameras can be programmed to activate only during an incident, or to pause when an employee has a reasonable expectation of privacy,” he explains. “They don’t always have to be recording. This technology is about having an accountable, reliable tool available when it matters most.”
Data management: End users want to understand how video will be stored either on-premises or in the cloud, who can access it, and how long it must be retained, Diaz explains. This requires secure, compliant data management systems, which security integrators must be ready to cover in any sales discussion. For example, Axis addresses these concerns by demonstrating end-to-end encryption, flexible storage models (cloud or on-premises) and role-based access controls, Diaz says.
Operational complexity: By and large, reliability and ease of use are two of the main considerations of body-worn cameras. The equipment must function consistently and be intuitive for the wearer, especially in high-pressure situations, O’Connor says. Some of the aspects to discuss with customers are the camera’s run time, which refers to daily operational duration before the battery needs to be recharged, and service life, which indicates how long the battery will last before it needs to be swapped.
A feature related to ease of use is automated activation, which means the camera is triggered by a vehicle system or by removal of personal gear, such as pepper spray from its holster. Another feature is a pre-record buffer, which provides a predetermined length of footage prior to activation. This ensures that recording starts during stressful moments when manual activation may be overlooked, O’Connor describes. “We need it to be easy to use for the person who’s wearing it. We can’t have them in the middle of an altercation going, ‘Did I turn my camera on? I don’t remember,’” he says.
Cost: Questions about cost relate to the upfront investment in hardware, software, and storage. Customers want assurance that the financial outlay is justified, and if they can be presented with a return-on-investment (ROI) model, Diaz says. “ROI is demonstrated by connecting body-worn camera investments to measurable cost savings, including lower liability claims, decreased legal expenses, quicker incident resolution, improved compliance, and reduced training costs,” she says. “In many cases, preventing a single lawsuit or significant incident can cover the full cost of implementation.”
O’Connor agrees that cost is certainly one of the key questions buyers have — especially in services industries, which might run on a limited ability to absorb large capital expenditures, he says.
Both Axis and i-PRO — and perhaps other manufacturers — offer a variety of investment/financing options.
i-PRO’s FlexPay approach acts as a gateway to a variety of different financing mechanisms for both integrators and their customers. “We provide different ways for them to finance the purchase over time. So, if they know they’re going into a large contract and they have a certain number of devices, they might enter into an arrangement with i-PRO that allows them to kind of create expense and revenue all at the same time, as opposed to a big capital investment,” O’Connor says.
The ROI becomes clear when decision-makers understand both the human and operational impact of body cameras, Cassard says; they eradicate incidents before they can even happen, strengthen employee well-being, and simplify dispute resolution. “For executives in operations, human resources and security, the ROI is not only financial but cultural: a safer, more confident workforce that drives productivity, lowers risk, and builds trust with customers and the public,” he says.
As part of a broader security ecosystem — including fixed cameras, VMS, communications, and more — body-worn cameras serve as a valuable component rather than simply a standalone solution. “Body cameras are more than just cameras,” Cassard says. “Body cameras are an extension of the existing video platform. Security integrators can position them not as a standalone product, but as another camera on the network, now offering a first-person perspective.”
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