New equipment will allow police to better analyze video evidence
$20,000 price tag paid for out of Forfeited Assets fund
By Miguel Morales miguel@theacorn.com

The Simi Valley Police Department will soon get a clearer view of suspected criminals, due to two items recently approved in the city's 2007-08 budget.

As part of its non-general fund recommendations, the City Council approved the purchase of a new surveillance van and an in-house forensic video analysis system at costs of $16,000 and $21,300 respectively.

The two items will be paid for out of the city's Forfeited Assets budget, which is fully funded by assets seized from criminals, typically drug dealers, who use cash from narcotics sales to purchase the assets.

According to police Chief Mike Lewis, the new digital forensic system, called "dTective," will enable the police to more readily and effectively solve crimes that have but one witness- a video camera.

"We use evidence in the form of video and audio on a weekly basis," Lewis said. "With so much happening every day, sometimes the only witness is a video camera."

Currently, the police department relies on its investigators to play crime scene surveillance videos on aging equipment and photograph the images as they appear on the monitor. The process often results in poor photographic evidence from which the suspect or suspects cannot be positively identified.

For that reason, the department frequently must send its video evidence to out-of-town sites to be examined, Lewis said.

"We want to be able to rely on our own men and women to get the job done," Lewis said. "The less evidence we have to outsource the more control we have over the situation."

When the new system is installed and two of the department's crime scene investigators are trained to use it, the Simi PD can do all of their video sleuth work inhouse, Lewis explained, resulting in a faster turnaround.

The dTective system, which is already used by police departments in Los Angeles, Anaheim and Glendale, will enable users to do field acquisition, clarification, analysis and presentation of surveillance video images with positive results.

"The quicker we get through the evidence, the quicker we get the bad guys," Lewis said.

Though not nearly as glamorous as a new forensic video analysis system, the new surveillance van is a necessary purchase for the Simi PD, Lewis said.

According to a staff report, the department's current undercover surveillance van was built in 1985, making it a challenge not only to maintain in running order but also to keep inconspicuous. Given its age and appearance, the report states, the vehicle "does not lend itself to blending into its surroundings."

In fact, the report points out, the van has often been the subject of suspicious vehicle reports.

"When (the current surveillance van) is out in a neighborhood for a few days we inevitably end up getting some calls from residents about it," said Captain Ken Tacke of Simi's investigative unit. "When that happens we can't reply by saying, 'Don't worry about it,' so it becomes a problem."

The captain has used the van for many missions, he said, and admits that it has lost its effectiveness and that the more it is used the more wellknown it becomes to criminals.

The newer, used mini-van the department has its eyes on shouldn't encounter those problems.

The cost of the van is $14,000, and another $2,000 is budgeted for retrofitting it with additional equipment such as newer and more technologically advanced cameras, batteries, digital recorders, video monitoring and concealment features.