DECATUR - If the police lights are flashing in your rear-view mirror, you are being videotaped for a possible future screening at your trial.

There won't be any music on the video, but the soundtrack will include the responses you give to the police officer as he politely interviews you while wearing a microphone.

Since Jan. 1, the 15 primary patrol cars on the streets of the city have been capturing pictures on brand-new, top-of-the line, high-definition digital video cameras.

Leaders of the Decatur Police Department have been singing the praises of the cameras, which record images at all times and begin saving the footage the moment the emergency lights are activated or the car is traveling at 60 mph or faster.

"I've wanted the cameras for a long time," said Police Chief James A. Anderson. "I've been a huge supporter of them. I think the community wants them. They protect the officers and protect the community. They are good tools. They are a good tool for the courts."

The Decatur City Council approved the purchase of the cameras in June. The total cost was $134,000, including hardware, software, installation and training. The funds came from the police department's DUI fund, narcotics fund and a fund earmarked to repair cameras.

City Manager Ryan McCrady, who supported the department's effort to purchase the cameras, said the community is safer because the cameras will prevent crimes.

"Hopefully, it will lead to a better conviction rate," McCrady said.

With 16 police vehicles still without cameras, McCrady said he is hoping to find funding to outfit all of them in the budget for the next fiscal year, which begins May 1. The vehicles without cameras are three command vehicles, one paddy wagon and a dozen patrol cars.

Before the new cameras were installed, Decatur's police cars were without cameras for several years. The previous line of camcorders, installed in 2003, used 8 mm videotape. They were phased out as they individually broke down and the warranties expired.

"They were high maintenance," said Deputy Chief Ed Smith. "We needed to replace videotapes for every shift. With the new cameras, we don't have to worry about running out of tape anymore."

How do the officers on the street feel about having a great deal of their work activities recorded?

"The professional police officer will never be hurt by these," said Brian Allison, a field training officer. "They'll help you when the subjects make allegations that are not true. They're useful for our purposes, very useful in training."

Officer Brad Roberts, who joined the department six months ago, is completing his training. His training regimen includes viewing footage of his own interactions with motorists on the cruiser's computer immediately after traffic stops.

Roberts said it has been helpful to break down the film with a training officer.

"Sometimes when you are in the middle of a stop, there's a lot going on," Roberts said. "It's helpful to look at it later and see what you did right and what you did wrong."

The young officer said he is not concerned that he might be filmed making a mistake one day because he will be trying to do the right thing. He appreciates the protection from possible allegations of wrongdoing.

"If we're not doing anything wrong, it will show what we did," Roberts said.

Sgt. Brad Sweeney of the department's bureau of professional standards said traffic officers especially like the cameras because they document erratic driving before a stop is made. This will enable attorneys and jury members to clearly see things for themselves.

"They're seeing what the officers saw before they pulled them over," said Sweeney, who patrolled the streets for 14½ years. "Then, when he is pulled over, they will see his slurred speech and slow mental processes. The field sobriety test is also captured on camera."

Sweeney, whose bureau is charged with investigating police misconduct, said the tapes may be used in investigations of officers.

Those who are not being investigated are also having their daily work reviewed.

"The command officers spot-check the officers' videos," Sweeney said. "Every day, the command officer reviews the previous day's work."

Sweeney was quick to add that the supervisors are not focusing on catching officers performing poorly.

"They're hoping to hand out compliments," Sweeney said.

Officers especially appreciate the ease of using the new cameras, which are automatically uploaded to the server at headquarters just by driving into the garage or cruising nearby. Then any video recorded by that camera can be viewed at headquarters.

In addition to recording video whenever the cruiser moves at a high speed or flashes its emergency lights, the camera also preserves the footage of cruiser accidents.

"Every front-end collision is automatically recorded, plus a 30-second prerecord," Sweeney said.

The prerecord feature allows investigators to see what happened just before the accident occurred.

Officers also can manually activate the video and audio at any time.

Sweeney said the Panasonic cameras, with the fitting model name Arbitrator, are made especially for police work.

"They are the best car cameras you can buy," Sweeney said.

Patrol cars also contain smaller cameras facing the back seats, to record the activities of prisoners.

"You'd be surprised what a prisoner will say in the back seat of a police car on the way to jail," Sweeney said. "They'll incriminate themselves. They'll try to hide contraband. They'll kick out the back windows. They'll cuss at the officers and threaten them."

Sweeney said prosecutors have found the cameras to be useful tools. They often cause defendants to plead guilty, rather than ask for trials, which can be costly. The cameras could pay for themselves within the police budget, because they should keep down the costs of paying officers to testify at trials, which often occur on overtime.

Macon County State's Attorney Jack Ahola said cameras help move cases more quickly through the legal system.

"I'm very pleased they have them back," Ahola said. "They're extremely useful, especially in DUI cases and fleeing and eluding. The jury can be shown the crime in progress. When they didn't have cameras, some of the DUI cases were more difficult to prosecute."

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