New eyes in the sky

CHENEY — The Police Department recently upgraded its eyes in the sky watching over anything taking place downtown.

The department has replaced its four pole-mounted cameras with new devices manufactured by Security Lines US that are not only more efficient from a maintenance and service stand point, but also more powerful. Three cameras — called Portable Observation Devices (P.O.D.s) — are mounted at intervals along 1st Street on Light Department power poles from G Street to Zip’s Restaurant, and should give officers and dispatchers a much better view of incidents taking place along that stretch.

“The old cameras’ pictures were so distorted, a mother couldn’t identify her own son,” Police Chief John Hensley said. “The new cameras, you can read a license plate from a quarter mile away.”

The fourth camera is installed at Centennial Park. The park is often victimized by vandalism, such as an incident that occurred 10 years ago causing over $10,000 in damage to the restrooms.

The four cameras were purchased in 2019 through a $24,000 grant from the federal Department of Emergency Management that is run locally by the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office for area law enforcement needs. Hensley said the Covid-19 pandemic pushed purchasing and installing the cameras back, but the process was finally completed last month.

The cameras act as standalone devices or can be daisy-chained together. Each has a server in its box capable of communicating wirelessly with the department’s call center, where dispatchers can monitor the camera in real-time 24 hours a day, seven days a week or pull up recorded images from storage.

Hensley said the cameras also have a feature that allows communication via cellphone, something that currently only the department’s detective can access. The images are stored for up to 30 days, at which point they are recorded over, if other preservation arrangements are not made.

Hensley said there were concerns expressed by the Public Safety Committee back in 2019 when the cameras were ordered about their use, and the fact they could be monitored. While the cameras are always on, he said no one is assigned to continuously watch them.

Instead, law enforcement hopes the cameras provide additional information on incidents that take place, or in some cases, are happening in real time. If a crime is reported, or a traffic accident occurs, and its known the location was near a camera, the downloaded images can be pulled up for additional information.

Hensley said if a dispatcher is advised of an incident like a fight at a downtown bar, the dispatcher can pulled the nearest camera image up, check the status and advise responding officers about circumstances surrounding the incident, such as numbers of individuals, exact location, possible weapons and other factors.

The cameras are easy to install, Hensley said, with the first installation taking Light Department crews about an hour, and the next three around 20 minutes each. Because of that, and their wireless capabilities, the cameras can be easily moved around to provide the best coverage possible.

The department originally applied for six cameras, but was only granted funding to purchase four. Hensley said he plans to apply for more cameras in the future, with the intention of installing at least two more — one in the Safeway area and another at the State Route 904 and Betz Road intersection.

“By and large, bad guys tend to go that way,” he said of the latter.

Hensley said he has been told by the Sheriff’s Office that funding this year is pretty tight and that the department’s discretionary capabilities in choosing awards is not as good as it was in the past.

“We’ll apply for another four with the Department of Emergency Management,” Hensley said. “If we’re rejected, we’ll apply for two through the regular (city) budget process.”

John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].