In sports “helmet cams” offer a unique, first-person perspective of events as they happen on the racetrack or the football field.

Now, the San Jose police department is set to become the first in the nation to test out a similar – though much smaller – technology to help officers collect evidence and protect themselves from false allegations of misconduct.

Last week, a few dozen officers attended a demonstration of the cameras, which will be integrated into their uniform, and worn over their ear like a bluetooth. Some cops found the headsets cumbersome, and i tried on several for a stand-up before finding a way to make one fit correctly (lots of napkins stuffed behind my hair to make it snug!). We thought rank and file cops might be opposed to recording their every move in the field. But when so much of what they do is called into question later, and it’s just their word against someone else’s – many officers said they’d welcome the technology as evidence to support their account of events. Right now the department has no set policy about when the cameras must be turned on, though they expect to have very clear guidelines set once this test period is over. I suspect the department will require the cameras be used more often than not, and seriously question those officers who don’t hit “record,” when the action starts.