Nassau County police testing out dashboard cameras

NASSAU COUNTY (WABC) -- Police on Long Island have new tools in their fight against crime.

Nassau County Police are testing out dashboard cameras in patrol cars to record officers' interactions with the public, and later this year some officers will have body cameras.

The pilot program got underway last month with two cameras in the department's DWI enforcement unit.

Officials say the cameras are valuable tools in preserving evidence for criminal prosecutions. The technology also is useful for when members of the public allege police misconduct.

"Even though we're offset from the vehicle now, we're still being recorded as we speak," said Det. Lieutenant Kenneth Strigaro of the Nassau County Police Department.

Strigaro says the potential is extraordinary. They're already in widespread use in the tiny town of Branford, Ct. and other departments across the nation, which is why the Nassau County Police Commissioner has launched a pilot program here.

"It's time. We've been talking to a lot of agencies, been talking to a lot of vendors for the last 18 to 24 months, and it's time to look at them," said Acting Nassau County police commissioner Thomas Krumpter.

So far two dashcam units have been installed in two highway patrol cars. The camera has a wide field of view, so anything that happens in front of the patrol car gets captured on video.

And it's not just video. Everything the officer says is recorded, because he's wearing a tiny microphone attached to his uniform.

"The officers are letting those individuals know that they're being recorded, both video and audio," said Strigaro.

But there are serious concerns about privacy. When an officer in Cleveland revived a child who nearly drowned, the entire episode was captured on his body cam.

Nassau's PBA president James Carver has other concerns.

"The video doesn't show the whole story. The worry there is that it will catch part of it, but not the whole thing about the situation that led up to the incident, and I think that's very important," said Carver.