Before the end of summer, 300 Los Angeles Police Department patrol cars will be equipped with video cameras to record interactions between officers and suspects, the mayor and police chief will announce today.
Several patrol cars in LAPD's Southeast Division have had the video cameras since May, as part of a pilot program to check for glitches.
Today, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Police Chief Charlie Beck will announce that patrol cars in the 77th Street Community Police Station will also be on-line by Wednesday, and that those in the Southwest and Harbor Divisions will get video cameras before the end of the summer.
Testifying before the Police Commission recently, LAPD Information Technology Bureau chief Maggie Goodrich said the "Digital In-Car Video System" has been working well.
"Officers are using it. They're uploading their videos, they're using it ... before they write their reports, things like that. We're getting positive feedback and things seem to be going very well," she said.
Her statement prompted Police Commissioner Alan Skobin to say, "I look forward to when we're able to pull the video (to) help us resolve either personnel complaints, shootings or other instances."
The Southeast Division, which spans 10.2 square miles, serves the neighborhoods of Athens Park, Harbor Gateway, Jordan Downs, Nickerson Gardens, San Miguel and Watts.
The 77th Street Community Police Station, meanwhile, covers about 12 square miles in the Crenshaw District, Athens Park, Chesterfield Square, Gramercy Park, Hyde Park, Vermont Knolls, View Heights, Vermont Park and Morningside Park.
The City Council in 2005 approved a $5.47 million contract to install video cameras in the South Bureau, which includes the Southeast, Southwest and Harbor Divisions and the 77th Street Community Police Station.
Under Phase 1 of the project, 300 patrol cars will be equipped with the video cameras. If the system is found to be successful, the rest of LAPD's 1,600 patrol cars may be equipped with video cameras at a cost of $20-25 million.
