August 25, 2025 The Best Source of News, Culture, Lifestyle for Culver City, Mar Vista, Del Rey, Palms and West Los Angeles

LAPD chief Charlie Beck seeks improvement in police camera system

 

s
Beck promised that broken cameras would get fixed and that staff would be better trained. (Thinkstock)

Responding to an independent watchdog’s audit that found the Los Angeles Police Department’s camera system “inadequate,” Chief Charlie Beck said Tuesday broken cameras at police stations will get fixed and staff will be better trained.

Police station surveillance cameras fail to fully capture footage of “critical” incidents, according to the Office of the Inspector General, including a case in which a man died while in custody at the Southwest Station last September.

The lack of video footage also hampered an investigation into a shooting that occurred at the Los Angeles Police Department’s West Traffic Bureau, according to a report released Monday by Inspector General Alexander Bustamante. That shooting resulted in the gunman’s death, and left one officer injured.

The two cases prompted Bustamante to launch a broader audit of camera systems at all 21 of the department’s stations.

His office found that many of the cameras were placed in locations that allowed just partial or no view of holding cells. Cameras also did not have “full coverage” of lobbies and other areas “where the public has unrestricted or unescorted access,” the report said.

Some stations also fail to regularly inspect the cameras to see if they are working, with some inoperable cameras discovered only during the OIG’s review or when video footage was being requested, according to the report.

Bustamante’s report also said the department was repeatedly denied more funding to maintain the camera system.

“It’s a good report, and it’s something we’ve known about,” Beck said following a presentation on the audit at today’s Police Commission meeting.

“Folks have to remember, we’re beginning to exit the greatest recession in our lifetime and there’s a cost to it … so as we emerge from that, we have a lot of work to do,” the chief said.

Beck said one of the challenges facing the training of station personnel on the camera system is that staff frequently rotate from station to station.

The OIG report also said many stations failed to restrict access to camera system workstations and video archives, with login and password information easily accessible in public areas and on commonly used computer networks.

The average 30-day storage of the footage was also a problem, according to the report. Footage was sometimes destroyed before investigations could begin or complaints could be made.

The OIG recommended that cameras be placed in any area in which the arrest process is taking place, such as at arrestee benches, booking stalls and holding cells. The report also suggests that multiple supervisors at each station be trained in how to use the camera system and retrieve video records; and that a policy be put in place to require station personnel to check regularly to see if cameras are working.

Related Posts

Sawtelle Neighborhood Could See Seven New Small-Lot Homes Under SB 684

August 25, 2025

August 25, 2025

Plans Filed Call for Replacing a Single-Family Residence With Two-Story Homes A proposed housing development could build seven small-lot homes...

18-Year-Old Woman Fatally Shot While Trying to Break Up a Fight on a Metro Bus

August 24, 2025

August 24, 2025

Police Say the Teen Was Killed in Westchester After Intervening in a Dispute  Efforts to break up a fight on...

Chuck Lorre Buys $27.5 Million Bel Air Mansion With Hollywood Regency Pedigree

August 24, 2025

August 24, 2025

TV Producer Closed on the John Elgin Woolf–Designed Estate at a Discount Chuck Lorre, the television producer behind The Big...

Is $1,500 Enough Anymore? The L.A. Tradeoffs Between Address and Actual Living Space

August 24, 2025

August 24, 2025

New Analysis Shows What 1500 Really Buys in the LA Metro In Greater Los Angeles, $1,500 rents less space than...

Two Days, Two Denials: Menendez Brothers Rejected for Parole

August 23, 2025

August 23, 2025

Erik Denied After 10-Hour Hearing; Lyle Rebuffed the Next Day Erik Menendez, convicted along with his brother in the 1989...

Rob Reiner to Attend for ‘This is Spinal Tap’ as Cinespia Wraps Summer at Hollywood Forever

August 23, 2025

August 23, 2025

Cinespia Closes Out Summer: Fan Favorites and DJs Return to Hollywood Forever Cinespia will close out summer with four outdoor...

Amber Alert for a Critical Missing Incident: Two Foster Brothers Abducted

August 23, 2025

August 23, 2025

Police Seek Non-Custodial Mother Jackeline Hernandez-Torres The California Highway Patrol issued a statewide Amber Alert after two foster brothers, ages...

Culver City Police Seize Ghost Gun: Suspect Arrested After Traffic Stop

August 23, 2025

August 23, 2025

Officers Uncover Untraceable Firearm With High-Capacity Magazine Police say a traffic stop near Prospect Avenue and Venice Boulevard resulted in...

Man Arrested After Burglary Report at Lionel Richie’s Beverly Hills Home

August 22, 2025

August 22, 2025

Police Say the Singer Was Home When the Suspect Entered the Property One suspect was taken into custody early Friday...

Extreme Heat Warning Extended in L.A. County: Officials Urge Safety Precautions

August 22, 2025

August 22, 2025

National Weather Service Alerts Cover Valleys, Mountains, and Coastal Areas Dangerous heat is expected to persist through the weekend in...

Ex-Culver City Recreation Worker Indicted: Charged With Exploiting 7-Year-Old in Federal Case

August 22, 2025

August 22, 2025

Prosecutors Say the Former After-School Employee Faces Child Pornography Charges Federal prosecutors say a former Culver City after-school employee has...

Jury Awards $3.8M to Man Injured by Rubber Bullet During 2020 George Floyd Protest in the Fairfax District

August 22, 2025

August 22, 2025

Filmmaker Suffered Permanent Injuries After Being Struck by a Sheriff’s Deputy’s Round Los Angeles County must pay nearly $4 million...

LAPD Urges Possible Victims to Come Forward in Sexual Assault Case Linked to Social Media

August 22, 2025

August 22, 2025

Suspect Arrested Aug. 20 on Suspicion of Forcible Rape Los Angeles police are asking for the public’s help in identifying...

Frozen Shrimp Recall Expanded to California After Radioactive Contamination Concerns

August 21, 2025

August 21, 2025

Southwind Foods Adds California Shrimp Recall Tied to Possible Cesium-137 Exposure Southwind Foods, LLC is recalling select packages of frozen...

LAPD to Step Up DUI Enforcement With Weekend Checkpoints and Patrols

August 21, 2025

August 21, 2025

Police Plan Multiple Operations Across Los Angeles August 22-24  The Los Angeles Police Department will operate a series of DUI...