Audax successfully achieves re-accreditation to the GoodBusiness Charter again.

Good Business Charter Accredited

Audax is delighted to announce it has successfully achieved re-accreditation to the Good Business Charter (GBC), an accreditation that seeks to raise the bar on business practices for employees, tax, the environment, customers and suppliers.

The Good Business Charter exists for all companies, across all industries and sectors, which organisations in the UK can sign up to in recognition of responsible business practices.

It measures behaviour over 10 components: real living wage, fairer hours and contracts, employee well-being, employee representation, diversity and inclusion, environmental responsibility, paying fair tax, commitment to customers, ethical sourcing, and prompt payment.

Being part of the charter provides a clear message to the world that we are committed to responsible operations. To achieve the Good Business Charter, we meet and exceed their criteria in 10 components.

At a time when people are caring more about who they work for and who they buy from, the Good Business Charter offers a straightforward accreditation which recognises organisations which prioritise and care for their employees, the environment, customers and suppliers, whilst also paying their taxes according to the spirit of the law. 

The Good Business Charter has the support of both the CBI and the TUC which both have trustee representation on its board and other partners of the GBC include the Living Wage Foundation.

Managing Director of Audax Adam Liardet, said: “As Audax® were worldwide Pioneers in Body Worn Video (BWV) technology, we are also proud to be one of the first businesses that adopted the Good Business Charter some 4 years ago.

Providing award winning products is one thing, but having recognition for how we conduct ourselves as a business is of particular importance to Audax. Every responsible organisation should aspire to reach the highest possible standards in the way they conduct themselves. Being able to publicly prove and advertise a commitment to achieving and supporting the 10 components that make up The Good Business Charter we hope encourages and inspires other businesses to follow suit”.

Click here to view certificate

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AUDAX CONFIRM MEMBERSHIP FOR MADE IN BRITAIN FOR ANOTHER YEAR

Award-winning body worn video specialists Audax® are delighted to announce the renewal of their Made in Britain membership yet again. The scheme brings together the British manufacturing community and allows the use of the exclusive trademark on products, proving an ongoing commitment to excellence. 


Proud Members of Made in Britain


Leading manufacturers of Body Worn Video (BWV) technology, Audax® are proud to confirm their ongoing commitment to product quality, value for money and efficient business processes through their renewed membership to Made in Britain.


Made in Britain is an organisation that recognises British businesses that are committed to the highest standards of British manufacturing, whilst also celebrating British manufacturing heritage.

Longstanding Supporters of UK Businesses

Audax has a longstanding history of supporting business growth in the UK and are also accredited to the Good Business Charter. The company’s headquarters are in Plymouth, Devon where the design, development, and all final assembly, testing and quality control functions are undertaken.

High Quality Body Worn Cameras

Members of Made in Britain are awarded the ability to use a protected mark on their products and literature. To earn it, they must adhere to a stringent code of conduct, and meet rigorous quality-control checks to prove their products are worthy of carrying the moniker. Products displaying the mark are proven to be made to the highest quality, represent value for money and are safe for anyone that uses or consumes them.  Overall, it displays the company’s commitment to adhering to the highest organisational standards.


 
Adam Liardet, Managing Director & Founder of Audax® comments,

“Our Made in Britain membership is something we are proud of and is another differentiator between our BWV solution and those of others. Unlike some competitors who are simply rebadging all of their imports from China, we manufacture our entire docking station solution here in Britain.


 
This decision was taken for a number of key reasons:


•          As an SME we understand that larger businesses may not be willing to work with SMEs that do not have transparent supply chains. The Modern Slavery Act 2015 and the abolition of modern slavery and human trafficking is something that Audax has voluntarily committed to the principles of and we therefore took careful steps to ensure modern slavery doesn’t take place during the process of supplying our goods and services.


•          Audax are actively taking steps to reduce our carbon footprint and prioritise the environment. On calculating our baseline emissions (published in our Carbon reduction plan), emissions from the transportation of imported goods could be removed by us Manufacturing in Britain instead. 


•          Security of supply chain from global events.  Supply chains have proved fragile over the past few years, Covid, Volcanoes, War and other “headline” events are obviously outside of our control and frankly when it comes to the provision of BWV products customers often have a critical need for immediate supply. 


To cut down on delivery timescales and coupled with the other key motivators, it made perfect sense to ‘re-shore’ the manufacture of some items of our solution back to the UK.


As a docking station is the critical element of a secure BWV solution and the overall BWV product solution can’t operate or perform without these elements, it was quickly established that this was a key element that by manufacturing in Britain would give us and our customers confidence that we have a secure supply chain.


We took the decision to  ‘re-shore’ the manufacture of the entire docking station solution back to the UK and all sub-assembly manufacturing for these takes place now in the UK. We employ a contract manufacturer using tools and moulds owned by us to produce parts and this assembly and unit build is then done by us at our site in Plymouth. Thus 100% of labour/human resource that makes the finished product is in Britain at the time the product is first offered for sale”

Made in Britain Guarantee

Consumers are actively encouraged to use Made in Britain members for their procurement of high-standard, British-made goods. Displaying the Made in Britain collective mark adds value to a brand by guaranteeing the product has been manufactured to the very highest standards.

More than this however, the scheme intends to emphasise the quality and variety of products on offer from British manufacturers, something Audax are very proud to be. It also ensures the rest of the world are aware of the thriving manufacturing industry Britain has to offer.

As world leaders in the BWV market for many years, Audax are a well-established British manufacturer and are honoured to display the coveted Made in Britain mark on their Body Worn Camera products.

See our Membership Certificate through to 2025.

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Audax are committed to achieving Net Zero emissions by 2040

Audax Work With Be Exhibitions & Mossy Earth

For a number of years, Audax have worked with Be Exhibitions and Mossy Earth to regularly plant trees across Scotland and Ireland to offset our carbon footprint.

Like Audax, the Mossy Earth team is passionate about the preservation of our natural world. They fight climate change by restoring nature on behalf of their members, with an incredibly important mission – to restore wild ecosystems, support wildlife and biodiversity, and help fight climate change.

Committed to Reducing Our Carbon Footprint

Audax committed ourselves to continue to support that mission as part of our efforts to actively reduce our carbon footprint and prioritise the environment, as mentioned in Our Green Agenda.

Audax Corporate Social Responsibility

It’s vital we all find a better meteorological balance where we will create a better atmosphere where we can all thrive. Strengthening the pillars of our Corporate Social Responsibility and looking at beating eco-anxiety in the Audax workforce, we have launched our further commitment to achieve Net Zero emissions by 2040.

Measurement and monitoring are the most important 1st steps that SMEs like us can make in our road to Net Zero.

Measuring and monitoring delivers several direct benefits:

  • Providing clarity on areas to prioritise
  • Monitoring progress towards goals

To start, we have had to calculate our Baseline emissions. These are a record of the greenhouse gases that we have been produced in the past and were produced prior to the introduction of any of our strategies to reduce our emissions. Baseline emissions are the reference point against which emissions reduction can be measured.

So with the use of online carbon calculator tools, we have been able to undertake the necessary calculations of our Baseline emissions and these are contained in our Audax Carbon reduction plan.

To further aid in understanding baseline emissions and the 3 x Scopes, the emissions you need to calculate are:

Scope 1

•        Emissions from Fuels used in your operations

•        Direct release or escape of Greenhouse Gases in your processes

•        Emissions from Vehicles owned by your organisation

Scope 2

•        Emissions from the Electricity and/or Heat and Steam that your purchase

Scope 3

•        Emissions from the transportation or storage of materials and products in or out of your organisation using vehicles or facilities not owned by your organisation. Note: you need to account separately for those that your organisation pays for and those that your customer pays for.

•        The emissions from the disposal and treatment of any waste generated in your operations

•        The emissions from Business travel by your employees, whether in their own vehicles, hired vehicles or public transport.

•        The emissions from Employees commuting into your facilities. Note it is optional whether to include emissions due to the energy use of employees working from home but we would strongly recommend including this if home or flexible working is a significant part of your operations.

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Working the Doors and BWV Data Protection

Working the Doors logo

Have recently undertaken a Body Camera survey amongst their Industry colleagues our friends at Working the Doors have also produced this article.

Policy & Data Protection:

The Privacy Violations Harming the Modern Security Industry

Although our recent study of body-worn camera (BWC) usage in the security industry reiterated, once again, the trustworthiness and professionalism of most UK-based security operatives, it also unearthed a few areas of concern.

From our perspective, nothing we learned from the study was more worrying than the potential for data protection and privacy violations caused by improper use of body-worn camera equipment, the consequences of which could be both damning and far-reaching.

Our study showed that, while a majority exceeding 80% understood GDPR rules pertaining to security footage, over 18% of the 184 respondents we asked did not. An even larger number (19.7%) stated that they did not understand SIA regulations pertaining to the proper handling of security footage, either.

Data Protection Transparency

Under the terms of the Data Protection act 2018 (often referred to as GDPR), any individual, company, or entity handling sensitive personal data (including footage) must do so in a fair, lawful, and transparent way. Data must only be used for the purposes for which it was filmed, must not be kept for longer than necessary, and must be handled in a way that ensures total security.

The ICO guidance states:

“You should store the information so that you can easily identify, locate and retrieve recordings relating to a specific individual or event. You should also store it in a way that remains under your control, retains the quality of the original recording and is adequate for the purpose you originally collected it for”

It is therefore not legal for people without an SIA CCTV operator’s license to view security footage (including footage captured by a BWC) for any reason. To do so amounts to improper handling of sensitive data, and thereby breaches data protection law.

The Consequences for Breaching GDPR Rules

The consequences for breaching GDPR rules can be severe. Any company that obtains, processes, or handles sensitive data is defined as a ‘data controller’ under the terms of the GDPR, and is seen as being responsible for that data. Several crimes are identified by the act and, while none of them are punishable by prison time, all of them involve hefty fines being levied against the individual in question and/or their employer. In effect, viewing BWC footage without the proper license risks jobs and licenses, and can seriously jeopardise the financial wellbeing of employers, venues, and colleagues.

Issues of camera ownership also touch on this topic. According to our study, around 56% of security operatives own and operate their own BWCs. This makes sense in the case of those operatives who work freelance, and for multiple employers. However, it also invites controversy.

If the camera owner does not have a CCTV operator’s license, that individual does not have the legal right to view any security footage taken with their own camera. In this case, privacy laws supersede property rights. This can, of course, cause big problems in cases where the camera is used for purposes besides security work.

Handling Body Worn Camera Footage With Due Consideration

In the study, we advocated for venues or security firms buying their own BWCs, as well as docking them and handling the footage entirely in-house. This would ensure that all footage taken would be handled properly and with due consideration, and only watched by licensed personnel. It would also help to ensure that non-incriminating footage was not kept for a period exceeding 30 days (the UK standard).

According to the GDPR, security cameras should always be visibly signposted. This includes BWCs (and provisions should be made to ensure that BWCs are specifically mentioned). Where possible, patrons should also be verbally informed that they are being filmed. We understand that this is not always possible (as our respondents have confirmed). However, police and ICO guidelines for BWC usage suggest that the placing of visible signage or a warning light on the device or uniform, to indicate that the device is switched on and recording is suitable and security operatives may therefore do the same.

We feel that correct signage, verbal warnings (where possible), and the red ‘record’ light never being switched to ‘covert’ mode should provide enough insulation to record safely without complaint.

For those who wish to learn more, Working The Doors study on Body Camera Usage in the Security Industry goes into far more detail on these, and many more topics relating to BWC usage as it pertains to the issue of data protection.

Finally, we would like to state that the GDPR exists to protect people’s right to privacy, and, more specifically, to give individuals a measure of control over their personal and private information. The right to privacy is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy, and it is of vital importance that this right is always upheld. Protecting people’s basic rights is a form of protecting the people themselves and that, after all, is what security operatives are there to do.

ICO Additional considerations for technologies other than CCTV: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/key-dp-themes/guidance-on-video-surveillance-including-cctv/additional-considerations-for-technologies-other-than-cctv/

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Streamline Your Digital Evidence Management with Audax DEMS and Docking Station Solutions

PC Body Camera Docking Station

Managing digital evidence can be a daunting task, especially for law enforcement agencies that need to handle large amounts of data. That’s where Audax DEMS (Digital Evidence Management System) and docking station solutions come in.

Audax Digital Evidence Management System

Audax offers DEMS for both of our Bio-AX and 20-1 cameras and these are connected with the Docking Station. Both offer a wide range of functionalities and are similar in their capabilities. The system is designed to manage Officer to Camera assignments via onboard QR code and also allows users to fully manage their recorded media.

Collect & Store Body Worn Video Digital Evidence

With Audax DEMS, you can collect and store digital evidence recorded on a BWV camera, and tag it with key words, case numbers, and other metadata to facilitate easy retrieval. For role-based functions, you can assign different permissions to different users or groups, giving organisations full control over user access rights, retention tables, and more.

Capable of Large Data Processing

The system is capable of processing large amounts of data securely, with redundancy backup and load balancing mechanisms in place for reliability. Audax offers both cloud-based and locally hosted servers for centralised storage and control, and automatic or timed data upload to simplify data management. You can also set up data retention policies per file type or all data types for ease of use.

Secure Video Viewing

With built-in AES media player for secure video viewing, the system offers role-based access control and user authentication for added security. In addition, you can issue secure one-time share links to other authorised external persons, making sharing evidence easy and secure.

Streamline Your Digital Evidence Management with Audax

Audax DEMS and docking station solutions offer a streamlined approach to digital evidence management. With its wide range of functionalities, secure data processing, and ease of use, Audax DEMS is a must-have tool for any organisation that needs to manage digital evidence.

Contact Audax today to learn more about how Audax DEMS can benefit your organisation.

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Get Complete Situational Awareness with Audax CMS for Bio-AX and 20-1 Camera Systems

In today’s world, it’s important to have complete situational awareness, especially when it comes to monitoring cameras and user movements.

That’s where Audax CMS (Camera Management System) comes in. Designed for both Bio-AX and 20-1 camera systems, Audax CMS is a simple-to-use, web-based, and fully secure software monitoring program that provides complete situational awareness of all camera/user movements and actions.

Ideal for control rooms, Audax CMS offers dynamic management of ongoing live situations and has user SOS Panic Alerts for emergency situations.

You can also analyse past camera actions, locations, and more, allowing for a 360-degree audit trail of your digital evidence gathering for retrospective search. For data security, you can assign different permissions to different users, giving organisations complete control over user access rights.

The system is capable of processing large amounts of data and live video streaming, and it accepts virtually all IP-based cameras, including vehicle, mobile, fixed, traffic, and more. Audax CMS can be cloud-based or locally hosted, offering centralised storage and control.

With role-based access control and user authentication, the system ensures security, and you can view live or historic bread crumb trails of camera location-based activities. You can also converse with users via PTT or send text messages (certain models only) and harness the power of Google Maps via automated Geo Fence Alerting.

For added security, Audax CMS offers the ability to manage lost or stolen devices by issuing a Stun/Wipe command (Bio-AX). The Bio-AX camera is ONVIF Profile S compatible, allowing for integration into other compatible platforms, and it also offers the unique feature of remotely commanding camera recording.

Audax CMS offers complete situational awareness and dynamic management of live situations, making it an essential tool for control rooms and organisations that need to monitor user movements and camera actions.

With its wide range of functionalities, secure data processing, and ease of use, Audax CMS is a must-have tool for any organisation that needs to monitor camera/user movements. Click here to contact Audax today to learn more about how Audax CMS can benefit your organisation.

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Audax® BWV Cameras: Ensuring Data Security and Integrity

In today’s world, it is important to ensure that data is kept secure and only accessed by those who are approved. This is particularly true for law enforcement agencies and security workers who use body-worn video (BWV) cameras to capture footage of their interactions with the public. In the UK, the Home Office and College of Policing provide technical guidance requirements for Police use of BWV cameras (but these are generally accepted as the authority for security professionals as well). One requirement is that they must have non-removable media storage within a sealed unit for data security and integrity.

Audax® BWV cameras, which are manufactured in the UK, are designed to meet these strict requirements. The cameras provide high-quality HD video and audio on secure non-removable memory. The camera is a sealed unit, and the standard 32 GB memory is ‘fixed’ to the motherboard. This means that the memory cannot be removed and it is ‘tagged’ to only work with the particular motherboard. By its unauthorised removal it will disable the entire memory and prove useless for data recovery.

All recordings are also secured by AES 256 encryption, which is one of the strongest and most recognised encryption methods available. This encryption is not only on the recordings held in the camera memory, but it also on the live streaming video, being transmitted to a control room. All video is protected by AES 256 encryption and the decoder / decryption media player (for secure video viewing) is hosted in Audax DEMS. Without access to this software, the video playback will just show a green screen and be useless to anyone. Our docking stations also have role-based access control and user authentication for security.

One of the other key features of Audax® BWV cameras is their password encryption. The cameras are password protected, and the settings are secured with the Audax® camera management software (CMS). This ensures that only authorised personnel have access to the footage and settings, adding an additional layer of security to the device.

Overall, Audax® BWV cameras are best-in-class for law enforcement agencies and security workers who require secure and reliable body-worn video cameras. Our adherence to the UK Home Office’s technical guidance requirements, non-removable media storage, and strong encryption methods make us an ideal choice for those who require the highest level of data security and integrity.

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Audax launches new Holster Aware Sensor, designed to support and enhance security and emergency services operations in the field

The Audax Holster Aware is a brand-new solution that detects whether a handgun, non-lethal weapon, CED (Conducted Energy Device) or PAVA Spray has been removed from a holster worn by the body worn camera wearer.  This new feature is now available across Audax’s range of pioneering Body Worn Video (BWV) cameras.

Audax have been pioneers in body worn video (BWV) technology for the past few decades. Once again, with the release of the Audax Holster Aware the BWV experts are leading the field with ground-breaking features that will change the way in which security and emergency service workers are protected.

Designed to minimise the number of actions a camera wearer must take, Audax’s Holster Aware Sensor recognises the presence of a firearm (or a non-lethal weapon, CED or PAVA Spray) within a holster and will trigger recording to begin via Bluetooth wireless technology to an Audax Bluetooth-enabled camera if this item is removed or inserted.

Before this technology, these workers would need to press the recording button on their BWV camera in order to capture the event and securely store it, however, if the camera wearer is faced with a situation where they must draw their weapon, the pressing of a button will likely be impossible. However, without this vital recorded evidence, prosecuting criminals can be tricky. That’s why this innovative technology is so important.

With Audax Holster Aware, the officer or security personnel wearing the camera does not need to worry about pressing a button to begin recording, as the removal of the weapon from the holster will do this automatically. This simple action could potentially save crucial time and capture valuable evidence.

Using wireless Bluetooth technology, the sensor pairs and connects to the nearest Audax camera in a 10m range, providing instant recording initiation on the BWV camera. This level of connectivity also enables an audit report to be generated in Audax DEMS to log every instance a sidearm has been drawn from a holster.

Adam Liardet, Managing Director of Audax comment: “At Audax, we are always looking for new ways to enhance operational capability in the field. This innovative new feature was designed to prioritise the safety of the emergency services and security professionals, along with other BWV users.”

Audax – worldwide leaders in Body Worn Video technology – will continue to use their extensive experience and knowledge to develop and advance their products, and increase the safety of those who wear them.

About Audax®

Audax have been the worldwide Pioneers in Body Worn Video (BWV) technology since 2005. We are approved Members of Made in Britain as we design, develop, and perform all final assembly, testing and quality control functions for our products at our Plymouth Headquarters. Members of The Guild of Security Industry Professionals and an early adopter and member of the Good Business Charter (which incorporates being accredited as a Living Wage Employer and No Zero hours contract Gold employer). The Audax team is predominantly composed of service veterans and are proud to have the Gold Award of the Armed Forces Covenant.

Follow @audaxsolutions on Twitter | Follow @audaxglobalsolutionslimited on LinkedIn

View our multi -Award winning, securely encrypted, UK manufactured, BWV Solutions. https://www.youtube.com/@audaxBWV

Audax®, BioAX® and Bio-AX® are registered trademarks of Audax Global Solutions Ltd and are used under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ©2023 Audax. All rights reserved.

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Body Worn Video (BWV) pioneers, Audax, extend commitment to combat climate change

As part of a green agenda, Audax is continuing to work with Be Exhibitions and Mossy Earth to regularly plant trees across Scotland and Ireland to offset their carbon footprint.

Audax recognises that they have a duty to protect our environment. As the world opened up post-pandemic in 2022, members of the team travelled to numerous events across the UK and Europe to showcase the company and its award-winning portfolio of body worn cameras. As in previous years, to offset the travel associated with these events, Be Exhibition and Mossy Earth planted trees on behalf of Audax as part of reforestation projects in Ireland and Scotland.

For example, to offset the carbon footprint of Audax’s exhibition stands in April and May, three trees were planted for a reforestation project in the Scottish Highlands. This project focuses on planting the right trees in the right places, ensuring that native species are planted in areas that are likely to become wild forests. These areas are also protected, so that they can lock up huge amounts of carbon and provide a safe habitat for wildlife, and can be enjoyed by generations to come. (Click here to learn more).

Audax Founder and Managing Director, Adam Liardet commented, “At Audax we believe that despite being a technology company we can actually have a positive impact on the planet, leaving it better than when we found it. We’re proud to be involved with a number of initiatives aimed at supporting people, places and the planet – from anti-agression campaigns that protect emergency workers to these projects with Be Exhibitions and Mossy Earth.”

Like Audax, the Mossy Earth team is passionate about the preservation of our natural world. They fight climate change by restoring nature on behalf of their members, with an incredibly important mission – to restore wild ecosystems, support wildlife and biodiversity, and help fight climate change.

Looking ahead to 2023, Audax will continue to support that mission as part of their efforts to actively reduce their carbon footprint and prioritise the environment.

About Audax®

Audax have been the worldwide Pioneers in Body Worn Video (BWV) technology since 2005. We are approved Members of Made in Britain as we design, develop, and perform all final assembly, testing and quality control functions for our products at our Plymouth Headquarters. Members of The Guild of Security Industry Professionals and an early adopter and member of the Good Business Charter (which incorporates being accredited as a Living Wage Employer and No Zero hours contract Gold employer). The Audax team is predominantly composed of service veterans and are proud to have the Gold Award of the Armed Forces Covenant.

Follow @audaxsolutions on Twitter | Follow @audaxglobalsolutionslimited on LinkedIn

View our multi -Award winning, securely encrypted, UK manufactured, BWV Solutions. https://www.youtube.com/@audaxBWV Audax®, BioAX® and Bio-AX® are registered trademarks of Audax Global Solutions Ltd and are used under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ©2023 Audax. All rights reserved.

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