Post by WaTcHeR on Apr 4, 2006 13:32:15 GMT -5
04/04/2006 - Digital video cameras will be mounted in 150 police cruisers to monitor officer behavior in the LAPD's 77th Street and Southeast Divisions if a pilot program introduced today is approved.
The two LAPD division were selected because most complaints of improper officer behavior come from the 77th Street and Southeast divisions -- areas with predominantly black and Latino residents, Cmdr. Charlie Beck of the LAPD's Office of Operations told the City Council's Public Safety Committee.
"Those might be neighborhoods where there is a crisis of confidence in the police, and it's in these two neighborhoods that many of our costs relative to judgments have come," Beck said. "We think that they are also two very active areas where this would do very well."
The LAPD believes that installing digital cameras in all LAPD cruisers could save Los Angeles $3 million annually in costs associated with investigations into officer conduct.
Purchase and installation of the cameras division-wide would cost more than $2.34 million but would reduce the time and manpower required to investigate complaints filed against officers, according to an LAPD report released last month.
If approved, the pilot program would allow city and police officials to determine whether to install video cameras inside all of the LAPD's cruisers, Beck said. It was not clear how much the pilot program of 150 cruisers would cost.
Installing the cameras would fulfill a consent decree requirement to reduce racial profiling during traffic stops, according to a report released in January by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's office, the LAPD, Los Angeles Police Protective League and The Advancement Project, a civil rights organization.
The consent decree stems from a 2001 settlement with the U.S. Justice Department in the aftermath of the Rampart corruption scandal, involving rogue officers who beat and framed suspects. The city agreed to the decree to stave off a federal lawsuit alleging a pattern of civil rights violations by police.
Though all five members of the council's Public Safety Committee agree with the concept, the panel decided to take up the matter again before forwarding recommendations to the full City Council for consideration.
"The presentations have made clear that putting video cameras inside police cars would save money by reducing the risk of lawsuits ... it will increase public confidence in the police and it will help the city comply with the consent decree," said Councilman Jack Weiss, who chairs the council's Public Safety Committee. "It's a public safety trifecta, and it's staring us right in the face."
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said last month that there may be some funding available to start installing digital cameras inside police cruisers this year, despite a $295 million deficit looming over the city.
"There are significant savings," Weiss said. "The city has to move in this direction ... it's my hope the mayor's budget will contain a road map to get there."
Under the camera plan now being considered, officers would not be able to tamper with the video monitoring equipment.
Current technology allows for wireless transfer of the digital video from a device installed in the car to a computer system at each of the LAPD's stations.
The recorded information would be encrypted and accessible only to LAPD supervisors. The video would remain at the station for 30 to 90 days, then stored at police headquarters for two to three years.
"This is the latest, current technology available," Beck said. "This will more than meet our needs."
The Christopher Commission, created following the Rodney King beating, first recommended more than a decade ago that the LAPD put cameras in cars.
The two LAPD division were selected because most complaints of improper officer behavior come from the 77th Street and Southeast divisions -- areas with predominantly black and Latino residents, Cmdr. Charlie Beck of the LAPD's Office of Operations told the City Council's Public Safety Committee.
"Those might be neighborhoods where there is a crisis of confidence in the police, and it's in these two neighborhoods that many of our costs relative to judgments have come," Beck said. "We think that they are also two very active areas where this would do very well."
The LAPD believes that installing digital cameras in all LAPD cruisers could save Los Angeles $3 million annually in costs associated with investigations into officer conduct.
Purchase and installation of the cameras division-wide would cost more than $2.34 million but would reduce the time and manpower required to investigate complaints filed against officers, according to an LAPD report released last month.
If approved, the pilot program would allow city and police officials to determine whether to install video cameras inside all of the LAPD's cruisers, Beck said. It was not clear how much the pilot program of 150 cruisers would cost.
Installing the cameras would fulfill a consent decree requirement to reduce racial profiling during traffic stops, according to a report released in January by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's office, the LAPD, Los Angeles Police Protective League and The Advancement Project, a civil rights organization.
The consent decree stems from a 2001 settlement with the U.S. Justice Department in the aftermath of the Rampart corruption scandal, involving rogue officers who beat and framed suspects. The city agreed to the decree to stave off a federal lawsuit alleging a pattern of civil rights violations by police.
Though all five members of the council's Public Safety Committee agree with the concept, the panel decided to take up the matter again before forwarding recommendations to the full City Council for consideration.
"The presentations have made clear that putting video cameras inside police cars would save money by reducing the risk of lawsuits ... it will increase public confidence in the police and it will help the city comply with the consent decree," said Councilman Jack Weiss, who chairs the council's Public Safety Committee. "It's a public safety trifecta, and it's staring us right in the face."
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said last month that there may be some funding available to start installing digital cameras inside police cruisers this year, despite a $295 million deficit looming over the city.
"There are significant savings," Weiss said. "The city has to move in this direction ... it's my hope the mayor's budget will contain a road map to get there."
Under the camera plan now being considered, officers would not be able to tamper with the video monitoring equipment.
Current technology allows for wireless transfer of the digital video from a device installed in the car to a computer system at each of the LAPD's stations.
The recorded information would be encrypted and accessible only to LAPD supervisors. The video would remain at the station for 30 to 90 days, then stored at police headquarters for two to three years.
"This is the latest, current technology available," Beck said. "This will more than meet our needs."
The Christopher Commission, created following the Rodney King beating, first recommended more than a decade ago that the LAPD put cameras in cars.