Policing: A Videotape Measure Job : Orange County to put cameras in sheriff’s cars to protect deputies, citizens

Whatever the outcome, the current trial of four Los Angeles police officers in the Rodney King beating sends a clear signal that police work has been transformed forever by video technology.

But the real change won’t come from the occasional witness with a camera who just happens to be at a crime scene. More important is the willingness of Southern California’s law enforcement community to embrace videotaping as a way to protect both officers and citizens.

Orange County’s Board of Supervisors took a bold and worthwhile step this week by agreeing to equip all 79 Sheriff’s Department patrol cars with video cameras. It’s believed the department will be the first in the nation to have taping units in all its cars.

The cost of the fist-sized cameras--which will mount on rearview mirrors--isn’t cheap. The video program will cost Orange County $467,190, which will come from drug-forfeiture funds and from cities that contract with the county for law enforcement.

The expense is justified. Routine videotaping should help rebuild the confidence in law enforcement that was shaken by the disparity between police reports on the King beating and how the videotape captured it.

The Rodney King videotape was a bombshell. Let’s hope that the Orange County sheriff’s videotapes are positively dull by comparison.