Jul 25, 2002 By Steve Ferris 3 min read

State police in Uniontown will soon have a new weapon in their arsenal of crime-fighting tools. Thanks to an amendment that was recently added to the state’s wiretap law, state and municipal police are now permitted to make audio recordings during any incident or traffic stop.

State police have had mobile video and audio units in some patrol cars since 1996, but the wiretap law prohibited the use of the audio component, state police public information officer trooper Linette Quinn said.

She said 150 of the state’s 993 marked cars have audio/video recorders and federal grants have been awarded to install 50 more this year.

“The officers wear a wireless mike that transmits back to the vehicle,” Quinn said. “Each station has at least one.”

Lt. Harvey Cole, commander of the Uniontown barracks, said his station has two cars equipped with recorders, and they are used during every shift.

“I think it’s good,” Cole said. “It will be beneficial to state police officers. Whatever happens during the course of the day will be there (on tape).”

Cole said recordings would become evidence and treated as such. The tapes will be stored in the barracks evidence room and presented in court.

He said the audio recording component will be activated as soon as he receives the final go-ahead from the department administration.

The amendment also allows municipal police departments to make audio recordings. However, the technology is expensive. Quinn said the audio/video units used by state police cost $5,000 each.

“I personally think it’s a great idea,” Uniontown Police Capt. Ron Kozak said. “If it’s on tape, you can’t deny it. Anything that confirms the truth can’t be bad.”

He said recordings could be used as evidence against a person accused of a crime and protect officers from unfounded complaints against them.

Kozak said he doubts the city can afford to purchase recorders, but he noted that sobriety tests used to be recorded on tape at the former city police station.

When Gov. Mark Schweiker signed the amendment into law, he said that audio recordings can help in the fight against terrorism as well as domestic crime.

“This is a good common sense approach to fighting crime,” Schweiker said. “But this is more than a crime-fighting tool. This is an anti-terrorism tool. We cannot afford to miss anything, no matter how insignificant something may seem, in our post-Sept. 11 world.”

The American Civil Liberties Union initially opposed the amendment because it weakened the wiretap law, but it has decided to support it because it protects citizens against police misconduct and shields police from baseless lawsuits.

“We think it will cut down on frivolous lawsuits and police misconduct,” said Vic Walczak, director of the ACLU’s Pittsburgh office. “It’s an important weapon against police misconduct.”