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May 03, 2007
Tracy Police to Outfit Cars with Cameras from L-3 Mobile Vision
TRACY, CA - Come fall, those red lights atop local police cars won't be the only things flashing if you are pulled over for a traffic violation or other offense in town. The red light of a video camera also will be on.
City Council members this week approved spending about $150,000 to outfit 30 patrol cars in Tracy with digital video camera systems that will turn on when sirens and lights are activated. L3 Communications of Boonton, N.J., won the bid after Tracy officers tested seven brands.
"We're putting a system in every black and white, and also creating an infrastructure for wireless access points outside of the Police Department," Tracy police Sgt. Tony Sheneman said.
In-car cameras - one faces out the front windshield and one captures suspects in the back seat - have two main purposes.
First, they provide strong visual and audio evidence for or against suspects who later claim innocence or who allege police misconduct. Second, they provide training opportunities and administrative review for officers on the street.
"When things are going well, you want to watch how you're doing," Sheneman said. "When things go awry, you want to put a stop to it as quickly as possible."
This will be the first time Tracy has installed video cameras in its patrol cars. The department designated $200,000 to buy and install the cameras. Other law enforcement agencies, including the Ripon, Manteca, Lodi and Stockton police departments, have used in-car video cameras for several years.
Manteca is testing new brands of digital video cameras to replace the system of VHS recorders it now employs, said Manteca traffic Officer Nick Obligacion. Once purchased, a 15-terabyte server will store video files in an easily accessible computerized location. Now, officers must pore through 3,000 videocassettes to locate a single incident.
"It's more than a closet full," Obligacion said. "A server is much smaller, and the search ability is much easier."
According to a 2004 report analyzing 21 state agencies that employed in-car camera systems, including the California Highway Patrol, for a period of 18 months, the International Association of Chiefs of Police concluded benefits derived from using such systems include increased officer safety, documentation of citizen behavior, reduced time in court, evidence for internal investigations and a reduction of frivolous lawsuits.
The report also stated 95 percent of officers investigated for misconduct were exonerated by the recorded video evidence.
"Everyone is taking a look at them now, because they really will help us do our jobs better," Sheneman said.
The in-car camera systems should be in place by September.
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