Police department enters digital age

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by Laura Freeman

Reporter

Hudson -- The police department is dumping its antiquated videotape system in favor of more modern digital recording equipment for its dashboard cameras.

Council May 7 unanimously approved the purchase of digital recording devices for 10 police cruisers from
L-3 Communications for about $72,000.

Hudson Police Chief David Robbins said he would order the equipment before May 16 and expects delivery in four to six weeks. The cost to install the equipment is budgeted in funds for vehicle maintenance.

Robbins said the in-car mobile video systems the police department uses now were purchased before 2001 and are obsolete. They capture images on video tape and have to be copied onto a tape or disc as evidence for any court cases.

"The videotape system is labor intensive," Robbins said. "Officers have to replace tapes weekly and immediately if it shows evidence of an arrest. The tapes have to be cataloged, duplicated and stored."

When the police cruisers return to the police station, the new equipment will capture images and automatically download them to digital storage for historical records and later retrieval, Robbins said.

"It stores information on a server, and it can be searched for purposes of evidence or arrests and downloaded to digital video discs," Robbins said.

The new digital recording devices can be set to record automatically if the cruisers' sirens or lights are turned on, Robbins said.

The old equipment had to be turned on manually.

"I think it makes for a stronger case all the way around," Robbins said. "If someone protest a traffic violation, we will now have video of the violation. Instead of an officer's word against an offender, we will have video proof."

E-mail: lfreeman@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3150