IN-CAR UNITS Smile for the police cameras

The purchase brings the total number of in-car camera systems to 14.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- As soon as officer John Marhulik hits the lights and sirens on his cruiser, the camera clicks on.
The camera and its computer system capture everything the officer sees and does.
"It's a tremendous tool," Police Chief Bruce Simeone said. "And it works not only for the officers, but the citizens as well."
The Vindicator rode along with Marhulik to see how the system works.
Once he arrived at an accident scene behind the Eastwood Mall on Tuesday morning, Marhulik talked with the motorcycle driver, George F. Hoover, 66, of Burdie Drive, Hubbard. As paramedics and an ambulance crew strapped Hoover to a gurney to take him to Forum Health Northside, the microphone attached to Marhulik's uniform recorded the entire conversation.
It's just one way Marhulik and other Niles officers have been able to use the in-car video systems in their daily patrols.
That's why the department is making a concerted effort to equip every marked unit with a camera, the chief said.
Detail
Simeone said in recent years, the department has applied for funding to pay for the units, which cost about $4,500 each, or won them in various law enforcement competitions.
The department recently used federal money to purchase five more units, bringing the total to 14, Simeone said.
The cameras are mounted next to the rearview mirror in the car, and a display screen is placed above the mirror.
At least one car on every shift is equipped with the camera system. Besides the automatic camera activation when an officer turns on the lights and sirens on the car, the video system can be turned on manually.
Simeone said department policy requires officers to use the camera to record any interaction with residents. A portable microphone can also record sounds up to 1,000 feet away, even if the speakers are not in view of the camera.
The VHS tapes, which can only be removed by a supervisor or technician, are then routinely reviewed, he added.
Marhulik noted the tapes can be reviewed in the vehicle by officers but cannot be altered.
"Once you're finished watching it, it goes right to the end of the tape," Marhulik said. "You can't record over it or erase it."
As the new units arrive, they will be installed in officers' vehicles not by seniority, but by need, Simeone said. Two of the units will be equipped with night-vision cameras, and they will be installed in vehicles used on the midnight shift.
Simeone said department officials will continue applying for grants to get all 28 marked units equipped with cameras.
slshaulis@vindy.com