The Baltimore Police Department will soon equip 50 patrol cars with surveillance cameras, saying it will reduce police brutality and racial profiling complaints, and help police work more effectively.
The pilot program will be funded by the Abell Foundation, which announced yesterday that it awarded police $275,000 -- $225,000 for cameras and $50,000 for the department's Environmental Crimes Unit.
The cameras, which cost $4,500 each and will be installed in patrol cars in one of the city's nine districts, will be monitored for one year by police so they can compare that precinct to other city jurisdictions without cameras.
The cameras also are aimed at increasing community confidence, said Kristen Mahoney, the Police Department's director of grants and government relations.
"They will substantiate or disprove claims of brutality or discourtesy," Mahoney said. "They also will help on the investigation end and will enhance prosecution."
Robert C. Embry Jr., president of the Abell Foundation, said he hopes the cameras help police substantiate evidence for trials.
"The city has a lot of problems with jury trials and drug cases," Embry said. "Video evidence is very effective. A number of judges have told me this."
The cameras, which are expected to be installed by April, have been an effective tool for the Maryland State Police, said Olive Waxter, executive director of the Baltimore Police Foundation, who consulted with state police before requesting the grant.
The foundation was formed last year to supplement the city Police Department's annual budget, which reached $264 million this fiscal year, including city, state and federal funds.
Most of that money is earmarked for personnel. Mayor Martin O'Malley and Police Commissioner Edward T. Norris have prioritized putting more officers on the streets and giving officers raises in an effort to reduce the city's homicide total, which is expected to stay below 300 for the second straight year.
If the cameras work effectively in Baltimore, the department will seek money from the Justice Department to install cameras in another 300 cars. Within 10 years, police hope all of their cars will have a camera, according to their grant application.
Two years ago, 150 patrol cars in Baltimore were supposed to have cameras installed through a federal fund initiative, but the proposal never materialized.
The other Abell grant announced yesterday, $50,000 for the Environmental Crimes Unit, will fund an awareness campaign about dumping, as well as a bounty program for people who turn in illegal dumpers. The reward would be between $50 and $100.
"It's a huge public safety issue and health issue," Mahoney said. "We want to start rewarding people for doing the right thing."
