Candid Camera

Dramatic car chases recorded by patrol-car video cameras are the grist for most TV cop shows, but the recording devices more often capture images of routine police work and have a sobering effect on both officers and suspects, law enforcement officials said.

Patrol cars driven by Orange County sheriff’s deputies have included cameras for about eight years, and most videotapes turned in at the end of a shift show uneventful contacts with citizens, Sheriff’s Lt. Larry Abbott said.

While cameras play a role in documenting arrests, the presence of the equipment is also a reminder to police officers to keep a professional demeanor at all times, Abbott said.

“We believe that cameras actually help the officer, because it makes him maintain an appropriate level of aggression when aggressive action is necessary to make an arrest. The officer knows he is being videotaped. We’re convinced the cameras protect the public as much as they protect the officer,” Abbott said.

Newport Beach Police Sgt. Mike McDermott said officers grudgingly accepted the cameras when the department began using them three years ago. Complaints by officers that they were under “Big Brother’s” watchful eye quickly disappeared when officers learned the camera could also be their friend, McDermott said.

“Right after we got the cameras, we arrested a woman for driving while intoxicated. She claimed that she was sexually assaulted by the officer when she was arrested,” McDermott said. “Her employer, a doctor, threatened to take the allegation to the FBI. But when he saw the videotape, it clearly showed a very intoxicated woman being led to the back of a patrol car. The tape shot down her allegation.”

In that case alone, the video camera probably saved the city thousands of dollars in litigation costs, McDermott said.

In some cases cameras defuse belligerent suspects, officials said.

“Sometimes you can say, ‘Sir or madam, you’re being taped.’ Then they’ll look back at the car and see the red recording light. Their whole attitude changes,” said Lt. Ed Kreins of the Beverly Hills Police Department, which has used the video devices for four years.

Police are not required to inform people they stop that they are being taped.

A handful of police agencies in Orange County have video equipment in patrol cars, and officials said that despite early resistance by officers, cameras have been effective in both prosecuting crimes and protecting officers against false allegations of misconduct.

The Los Angeles Police Department recently announced plans to install cameras in all of its patrol cars in the next five years.

Police and prosecutors said cameras record mostly routine traffic stops that show motorists driving intoxicated or in possession of drugs. The stops are also voice recorded with portable microphones clipped to an officer’s uniform.

Occasionally, videotapes are used as evidence at trial.

“But in most cases videotapes are a nonissue,” Orange County Deputy Dist. Atty. Cameron J. Talley said. “They’re part of the evidence but not necessarily the key piece of evidence. We take a case to trial based on the weight of the evidence against a defendant, not what is shown on a videotape.”

Placentia is the latest city in Orange County to include cameras in its police cars. Lt. Steve Toth said the devices began operating about a month ago, and officers are still getting used to them.

Like other law enforcement agencies, Placentia opted for the cameras to protect officers against charges of misconduct and to monitor their conduct while on patrol, Toth said.

“It’s a wonderful tool. It helps us find the truth when an officer is accused of wrongdoing or rudeness by a citizen, but it also allows us to keep an eye on our officers. We believe it will be more beneficial to the officer.”

In most patrol cars, the camera is attached below the rear view mirror, and the recording unit--which is bulletproof and fireproof--is in the trunk. At the beginning of each shift, an officer picks up a tape and scans its bar code, creating a record of which officer has the tape.

The equipment is automatically activated when the siren or overhead lights are turned on. The camera also can be activated remotely by a button on the officer’s utility belt.

When an officer’s shift ends, the tape is dropped into a secured bin, much like a library return slot, and is stored for about 12 months.

The U.S. Department of Justice is conducting a survey of police video use and has yet to release figures on its prevalence. However, manufacturers of the equipment say that business is booming and that the machines are becoming standard equipment for officers--a technological upgrade of the microcassette sound recorder that many officers carry to tape their conversations with citizens and suspects.

Among those national organizations that have endorsed their use is the National Assn. of Chiefs of Police in Washington. “I think that in the coming years they’re going to be in general use in all large police departments,” said Bob Wallace, an association spokesman.

The Los Angeles City Council approved the LAPD plan last month, and documents are now being reviewed by the city attorney for approval. At the LAPD, installation of the devices, which can cost between $3,000 and $6,000 each, will take five years and cost a total of $5 million.