Published: February 23, 2009 11:18 am
HCSD to update patrol cameras
Units will provide multiple opportunities
By Rich Flowers News Editor
The Henderson County Sheriff’s Department will soon equip its patrol vehicles with a video recording device so small it fits into the rearview mirror.
The Digital Ally In-Car Video Systems will replace the old VHS recorders that were about the size of a brief case. Conversely, those units fit inside the vehicle’s trunk.
The sheriff’s department will pay for the recorders with $98,000 in Homeland Security grant money that had been allocated in 2007 to place laptops in each of the patrol cars. The laptop idea was shelved due to several unforeseen expenses, such as the cost of a service agreement. The county sought and received permission to re-route the funds to pay for the video recording system.
Henderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Dan Parker said the old VHS units were not only outdated by the new digital technology, but could not be repaired due to the manufacturer discontinuing the parts.
“This (upgrade) is something we were looking at doing in the future anyway and we were looking at the county having to pay for it out of the sheriff’s office budget,” Parker said.
The rearview mirror will serve as the monitor for the device, Parker said. The unit is constantly recording. By pushing a button the officer on patrol can save all the images beginning with the previous 60 seconds.
The images can be saved to a scan disk, Parker said, not much larger than one in a digital camera. The disk can be returned to the sheriff’s office and loaded into the computer system. Parker said the department plans to keep the files for 90 days and then erase them unless it is connected to an ongoing investigation.
The camera, which is mounted next to the mirror, has a GPS device the deputy can use.
“We can’t actually track the cars from the sheriff’s office,” Parker said, “but if a deputy is in a pursuit and somebody throws some dope or scales from his car, that deputy can mark where it happened and go right back to that area and retrieve it.”
HCSD plans to get 23 of the devices, enough for each of the deputies and patrol sergeants, Parker said.
The sheriff’s department will handle the installation, saving the county about $5,000.
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