Police to start wearing cameras in Sept.

Council accepts grant, awards 5-year contract for new program

Yuma police officers will start wearing cameras in September. The City Council on Wednesday accepted a $115,500 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice that will go towards the purchase of 77 body-worn cameras.

The federal grant requires a 100% match in cash or in-kind services. As of June 30, the Yuma Police Department had contributed $54,891 in inkind services, and the remaining contribution will continue to be in-kind services supplemented by city funds. The city budgeted $100,000 for the first year. The total five-year cost for the program is $420,393.

The council also awarded a five-year contract for the purchase of the camera hardware and software to Axon, an Arizona-based company formerly known as Taser. The city tested and evaluated cameras from four vendors before picking Axon for its “proven” track record and emphasis on continuous research and development. In addition, a staff report noted that Axon’s customer service has been “unparalleled from day one.”

Axon will deliver the cameras in late September, and they will hit the streets after a four-week training period.

The report noted that with recent national occurrences concerning police interaction with the public, body-worn cameras provide “a proven tool to aid law enforcement in protecting the public, police officers and collecting valuable evidence.”

The transparency associated with video recording of police interactions protects not only those served by law enforcement, but also protects the integrity of the officers providing the protection,” the report added.

Officers will wear the cameras on their uniforms to capture audio and video as they respond to calls. The footage will document

their interaction with citizens during an encounter. Officers will not record in places where an expectation of privacy exists, such as restrooms, jails and courtrooms or capture HIPAA-protected patient information.

During the meeting, Councilman Gary Knight asked whether this was the same grant previously approved by the council and then later declined due to the cost. Police Chief Susan Smith confirmed that the city first applied for the grant in 2016, but due to financial constraints at the time, the city returned the money.

The city reapplied for the grant and received it in 2018. It has taken a lot of research, work and preplanning to get to this point, Smith added.

In developing the program, the YPD worked closely with the Bureau of Justice Assistance to ensure that it followed the appropriate guidelines. The department also developed two new positions to handle the program: supervisor and video analyst.

Deputy Mayor Karen Watts asked whether the department would need to hire more staff later on. Smith noted that at this point, the two new positions should be able to handle the 77 cameras, but additional personnel will be needed later.

Knight also asked whether the cost included cloud storage. Smith explained that the five-year contract covered all the costs. In addition, since technology changes so quickly, Axon will update the hardware, software, cameras and a subscription to the storage database for all recovered video evidence in the third and fifth years.

The Police Department expanded the internet bandwidth citywide in anticipation of the new bodyworn camera system. The department bought $20,454 in hardware through the use of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) funds.

A report explains that this upgrade not only benefits the Police Department but the entire city by increasing internet speeds and allowing for a more stable bandwidth connection. “The bandwidth expansion has already proven to be a great benefit to the City network, allowing for more network traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic as many employees

continue to work from home. The bandwidth expansion has allowed for a successful telecommuting experience,” the report stated.

Knight said he was glad that the city is at a point that it can help members of the police force do their jobs. “And hopefully it will keep us from having so many litigations about things that go on when people are arrested. These cameras should eliminate a lot of that,” he added.