Grady Baker

Grady Baker, who serves as a consultant to the IACP, said the goal of the entire project is to "provide the best evidence."Basically, he wants new in-car camera systems to provide the advantages of digital with the minimum quality of analog.

According to Grady Baker, project director for the IACP, the first part of the study focused on the process; that is, the cost of in-car camera systems, effectiveness of these systems, and potential problems.

Grady Baker with the International Association of Chiefs of Police will talk about the expanding use of in-car camera systems by police departments and the potential issues involved with the technology.

W. Grady Baker(703) 836-6767 x839

International Association of Chiefs of Police project manager Grady Baker says that only a few U.S. police departments use cameras for virtual patrols, mainly because of cost.

Nationwide, about half of all patrol cars are equipped with cameras, up from about 10% four years ago, Grady Baker of the International Association of Chiefs of Police told the newspaper.

For more information on this topic, contact Mike Fergus at (fergus@theiacp.org) or 800-THE-IACP, extension 811, or Grady Baker at (baker@theiacp.org) or 800-THE-IACP, extension 839.

"There is an analog video enhancement technique called time frame averaging that can turn a blurry license plate into a crystal clear image," offered Grady Baker, project director of the IACP's in-car video survey.However, digital video can't be enhanced, because images are built using tiny pixels.
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The IACP's Grady Baker agreed: "There's actually nothing wrong with analog video, it's just the technology of the past."The real issue is not whether to resist the digital revolution, but how to join it without compromising too much on quality."After all, it's possible to build digital video systems that are superior to analog, but their cost would be prohibitive," Baker said.

William Grady Baker, Senior Program ManagerThe International Association of Chiefs of Police515 North Washington StAlexandria, VA USA 22314Toll free phone: 1-800-THE-IACPLocal phone: (703) 836-6767 x839

Forty-five to 50 percent of the marked police vehicles across the nation now have video cameras, and the numbers are growing, said Grady Baker, a research manager with the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

Why and how much

Cameras have been installed largely as a response to allegations of racial profiling, Baker said.