Portuguese 
With over 30,000 bodycams operating in the country and the new generation already reading plates and faces in real-time, the challenge has shifted from data capture to delivering it to the officer before the approach concludes. Without sacrificing the record that currently supports both sides of the incident. This topic emerges at COP International, the largest public safety fair in Latin America, taking place this week in São Paulo
In Brazil, body cameras were integrated into police uniforms with a clear mission: to document incidents and define the use of force. And they have fulfilled this role.
Research by the Brazilian Public Security Forum in partnership with UNICEF showed that in São Paulo, the lethality caused by military police on duty fell by 62.7% between 2019 and 2022—from 697 to 260 deaths.
In the battalions equipped with cameras, the decrease was 76.2%; in others, it was 33.3%.
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In an independent study, the Center for Applied Science to Public Safety of the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (CCAS/FGV) directly attributed a 57% reduction in deaths and a 63% decrease in bodily injuries resulting from police intervention to the equipment.
With this gain solidified, the next phase begins to take shape: leveraging the same equipment in a new direction.
The camera continues to record outward—supporting both the citizen and the officer in case of disputes.
The proposal is to complement current solutions, not replace them: to have the equipment also provide information internally for the user.
The Bottleneck is No Longer Capturing Information
Next-generation bodycams already read vehicle plates and recognize wanted faces.
The São Paulo Military Police, which is approaching 12,000 devices in the field, has already contracted the generation that includes these features.
With over 30,000 cameras in operation by police and municipal guards across the country, according to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, the challenge has shifted from data acquisition to the time it takes to reach those at the front line.
Today, information takes an indirect route: it goes through central operations, operators, and radio before returning to the officer.
In incidents that are resolved in seconds, this delay can mean the difference between a controlled approach and a tragedy.
The numbers surrounding police victims highlight the environment.
In 2024, according to the Brazilian Public Security Yearbook, 170 civilian and military police officers were killed in the country, up from 127 the previous year.
Of these, 93.9% died from gunfire and 77.2% in public areas—street threats that can escalate in an instant.
The level remained consistent the following year: in 2025, 173 security agents were murdered in Brazil, according to the Police Mortality Report of the Monte Castelo Institute, based on data from Sinesp.
Sound, Image, and Vibration
It is at this point that a newly patented technology in Brazil takes its stand.
Called Multichannel Intelligence, with a patent application filed with the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), it aims to shorten the information pathway and distribute it through three simultaneous channels: audio, visual, and tactile, the latter through vibration.
According to the planned design, alerts would follow a predefined communication pattern — a code that the agent would hear or feel, without the subject noticing.
Discretion is part of the project: the intention is to maintain the element of surprise and prevent the information from reaching the suspect before it reaches the police officer.
The bet on three channels has operational logic.
In an occurrence, audio competes with the sounds of people and traffic, and the eyes are occupied with the subject’s hands.
Touch, however, is the open channel — and it is precisely this channel that would require the hardware module still in the early stages of development.
“Perception, in the street, is survival. A few seconds of distraction in the agent’s attention can determine an outcome that no one wants,” says engineer Gustavo Gerloff, the author of the application.
“And none of this requires giving up on recording. The recording continues as usual — what is added is feedback for the safety of the agents.”
Leveraging Existing Infrastructure
The technology is still under legal secrecy, and the next step is development alongside sector partners: the project envisions electronic adaptation to cameras already in use, combined with the novel tactile transmission module — a path that would eliminate the need for replacing current equipment.
“The idea is to add this technology to the existing bases as well as to new solutions,” says Gerloff, CEO and Head of R&D of the Santa Catarina-based company 321Zero Innovation Lab, located in Joinville.
The Debate Reaches COP International
The discussion gains visibility this week.
From August 11 to 13, the São Paulo Expo hosts COP International, the largest public security fair in Latin America, which this edition debuts with DTech — a congress focused on technologies applied to public security, defense, and governmental management.
The program covers artificial intelligence, system integration, and public-private partnerships, bringing together developers, manufacturers, and frontline operators.
In the previous edition, the event generated over R$ 100 million (about US$20 million) in direct business transactions.
The sector arrives at the event facing a challenging scenario and several questions, but one tends to recur in the coming years: after consolidating body cameras as instruments of recording and transparency, will companies in the sector be willing to extract a second function — to also protect those who carry it?
