Lapd To Get 300 Video Cameras In Cars
The Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved a plan to install digital video cameras on the dashboards of 300 police cruisers by the start of next year as part of efforts to comply with a settlement reached with the U.S. Justice Department to avoid litigation over perceived civil rights violations.
The mayor had set aside $5 million for the initiatives in his spending plan, which was subsequently rejected, requiring the LAPD to solicit bids for camera systems.
The cameras would start recording when a cruiser’s lights and siren are turned on to ensure officers are not making stops due to the color of drivers’ skin alone.
The video would be transferred to computers at district stations wirelessly for access by supervisors
. An internal LAPD report said installation in all its roughly 1,600 police cars could save the department $3 million annually in costs linked to conduct investigations.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the City News Service (08/16/06); Marroquin, Art