Update: Lakewood Police Will Begin Using In-Car Video

Editor's Note: The Lakewood City Council unanimously approved a motion to allow Andrew Neidtiz, city manager, to move forward with the Lakewood Police Department's Justice Assistant Grant for $67,346 to purchase nine in-car police videos at a public meeting Monday night.

In-car police cameras are used by the Washington State Patrol, Seattle Police Department and other jurisdictions in Washington state, according to public documents.

They are used for a variety of reasons, including increasing the officer perception of safety interaction, document the circumstances of officer with citizens and offer conclusive evidence to assist prosecution of crime.

An administrative drawback could be a potential increase in public disclosure requests. Lakewood Police Lt. Chris Lawler said the system has been tough to manage.

"The PDR (Public Disclosure Request) forms can become time-consuming," Lawler said.

The increase in these requests translates to more staff devoted to filling the requests and as they move forward with this technology, tracking time spent on filing PDRs may be necessary to guage its impact, according to public documents.

It could be approved tonight, but there are no guarantees, said Lakewood City Councilman Walter Neary. It would take more than a year to install the new technology in the police vehicles, train the officers and more.

"Both our Public Advisory Commission and police generally like the idea of an impartial witness—a camera—serving as the eyes of the community," Neary said in an e-mail.

The Department's long-term plan is to purchase more video cameras if additional grant funds are secured. The JAG program has funded more than 20 cameras, a cost of nearly $220,000.

The video is mounted on the police car's dash or on the window. Authorities would also be required to wear a microphone to document audio.

JAG is a partnership among federal, state and local governments to create safer communities, according to the Department of Commerce Web site, adding the partnership was created in 2004 by Congress to streamline justice funding and grant administration.

Patch will have a complete story on the action item after tonight's meeting.