SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — New surveillance cameras could soon be coming to Spokane County.
The cameras are often found on top of traffic lights at different intersections around Spokane. Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said the cameras help ensure residents’ safety.
“It gives decision intelligence to our officers and makes up do a better job, which all leads toward our originally stated goal of precision policing and eliminating mistakes,” said Lt. Justin Elliott of SCSO.
Currently, the City of Spokane and Spokane Valley have around 60 surveillance cameras combined, but unincorporated Spokane has none.
SCSO said it hopes to add 15-20 more live cameras to unincorporated parts of Spokane County.
“This doesn’t mean we’re going to shift our focus into technology. We’re just better able to augment our services with technology,” Sheriff John Nowels said.
Funds for the cameras will come through grants the department received for the Real Time Crime Center, which currently monitors live cameras in Spokane Valley.
SCSO said while it typically costs around $245,000 a year to employ a deputy, the average cost of camera technology can be significantly more affordable, especially as the department deals with being understaffed.
“We’ve already been purchasing these capabilities and we’re putting them in real time and we’re getting solutions quicker, and we’re seeing the value of that, which is exponential,” Lt. Elliott said.
Sheriff Nowels said for those who could be worried about privacy concerns, the cameras are only used to help prevent and solve crimes.
“We are not going to use these to passively surveil citizens in Spokane County who aren’t doing anything wrong. All of this technology is only used to access the data when there is a legitimate reason to do so,” he said.
SCSO said these additional cameras could be up and running in six months.
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