Spokane City Council eyes mobile surveillance camera pilot program to aid police

The Spokane City Council is considering whether to rent a mobile camera and security unit that could be placed in crime hot spots such as bar parking lots to provide additional surveillance for law enforcement.

The D3 Mobile Security Unit, produced by Utah-based LiveView Technologies, uses three 360-degree cameras with thermal and optic capabilities. The standalone units also are equipped with strobe and flood lights, a two-way speaker, cloud-based data storage and an attached solar panel to power it, among other features.

The pilot project, proposed by Councilman Zack Zappone during Monday’s meeting of the Urban Experience Committee, would cost the city nearly $30,000 to rent the unit for a year.

If approved by the City Council, the unit would be placed in areas where crime, particularly shootings, have increased in the city, with the hope that the increased surveillance would be a deterrent to criminal activity.

“We know that we don’t have enough officers that they can be everywhere, especially downtown,” Zappone said during the meeting. “The police could use this as a tool in their toolkit, putting it up in places to deter crime.”

Similar units can be seen elsewhere in the city, including next to Lewis and Clark High School and at the Safeway located on Northwest Boulevard.

The Spokane Police Department would collect data on whether the mobile security camera actually impacted crime rates. If successful, the pilot program could be expanded further with additional cameras.

The proposal comes as the Spokane Police Department undergoes a major reorganization of its patrol division, assigning twice as many officers downtown at a given time. The department is also working to get its overtime expenditures under control, including by potentially eliminating emphasis patrols around downtown bars, when five or six officers work mandatory overtime on Friday and Saturday nights.

However, the price tag to rent the system may be too much for some council members.

“I just think this is so expensive, and we should be able to do this so much cheaper just putting a camera up on a light pole,” Council President Breean Beggs said Monday.

Beggs said he hoped to explore alternatives that could cost less for the city.

A vote to approve funding for the pilot project is expected for Jan. 23.