MOUNTLAKE TERRACE – Smile if you get pulled over for a traffic ticket in Mountlake Terrace, because you might be on candid camera.
To hold both officers and the public more accountable, the Mountlake Terrace Police Department spent $45,000 earlier this year to install digital cameras and new computer systems in its eight patrol cars.
The cameras activate when officers turn on their flashing lights. Each car has two cameras. One records what happens in front of the car, while the other films people in the back seat.
Mountlake Terrace Assistant Police Chief Mike Mitchell said the cameras will increase accountability. “If there is a citizen complaint, it takes out the ‘he said, she said’ part,” Mitchell said.
Mountlake Terrace isn’t the only department to get new digital cameras.
The Tulalip Police Department spent about $26,000 to equip five of its 15 patrol cars with digital cameras over the summer. The other 10 cars still use standard video cameras, which record on VHS tapes.
The digital cameras are far superior, Tulalip Police Chief Jay Goss said. It’s much easier to scan a CD for a specific moment than it is to wind through hours of tape, he said. The digital footage is crisper and images can be copied and printed frame-by-frame.
“There are some extra features in there that are pretty nice,” Goss said.
The Mountlake Terrace Police Department also spent $3,000 to upgrade several laptop computers and buy printers and license scanners.
Officers use the laptops inside their patrol cars to call up everything from vehicle histories to people’s addresses and phone numbers. Police can also use the computers to exchange information about crime scenes.
The high-tech gear eases the stress on dispatchers, who used to give officers all that information over the radio.
“We can make (the cost of the software) back in saved time in safety,” Mitchell said.
Officers also use the new computer system to print out traffic tickets, which takes about half the time of writing them out, Mitchell said.
Partly because of the ease of issuing tickets using the computers, Mountlake Terrace police are writing about 44 tickets a month, up from about 40 a month last year, Mitchell said.
The new digital cameras will eliminate many questions drivers have about their traffic tickets. Although cameras start recording when police turn on their flashing lights, the cameras are always on, Mitchell said.
“A lot of the time, you will be able to see what the (traffic) violation was,” he said.
It works both ways.
If someone walks into the police station and claims he or she was treated rudely by an officer, police officials can view the video and take disciplinary action, if necessary.
“There is a big advantage for officer accountability, too,” Mitchell said.
Reporter Scott Pesznecker: 425-339-3436 or spesznecker@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
