Our interactions with police officers are mostly (hopefully) benign, typically getting much-needed help or relying on them to solve a crime.

Some contact with officers is intense and volatile; that’s just the nature of committing a crime or being suspected of one.  In some cases a suspect will do almost anything to get out of the grip of the law, including lying. And while we respect the work of all police officers, sometimes they can overstep, too.

That’s why having an impartial third party – a camera – is worth the money  the  City of Renton is spending to put them on police cars.

Cameras intended to keep watch over us in public places are somewhat troubling; but these dash cameras  seem a bit different, helping to ensure that the rights of the public, the police and a potential wrong-doer are protected.

As the city’s risk manager, Gary Lamb, said today in our front-page article on the cameras, “It keeps people honest.”

That safeguard on honesty has already paid dividends for the city, cutting liability costs and reducing the number of frivolous lawsuits against the police.