CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It’s taken four years, but all state Highway Patrol troopers in Mecklenburg County now patrol the highways with the help of cameras mounted in their cars.
“They all have cameras today,” said Trooper John Burgin, spokesman for the Highway Patrol.
Car cameras have been standard equipment in many police departments, including CMPD, for years, but in 2012, Eyewitness News reported that only about one out of four Highway Patrol cars in North Carolina had cameras installed.
“Well you know, it's cost. Bottom line, it's cost,” Burgin said Monday.
The Highway Patrol says the cameras, which include audio recording equipment, cost about $5,000 each, which has slowed installation of the systems.
The cameras are automatically activated anytime the trooper turns on their blue lights, and Burgin said they clearly make it safer for troopers and the public.
“It keeps us on our toes. It makes us do the right thing out here. And it cuts down on our complaints. If someone knows they're being recorded, it really cuts down on malicious complaints against troopers,” he said.
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