The Woodland Police Department is set to upgrade its body-worn cameras and introduce fleet cameras in 2025, a change Police Chief Robert Gibbs says addresses critical equipment challenges.
During a meeting on Monday, Nov. 18, the Woodland City Council approved two 10-year contracts with Axon, a leading supplier of police equipment, to address ongoing issues with the department’s current Motorola body-worn cameras. The agreements will provide 17 new body cameras for officers and detectives, along with 15 fleet cameras for patrol vehicles.
Gibbs highlighted the importance of the upgrade, noting that the existing Motorola cameras often fail to last through a full patrol shift.
“Our officers work a 12-hour shift. The batteries for these current cameras, we’re lucky if they last eight hours,” Gibbs said. “So officers are having to constantly change out batteries in a shift or find time to get back to the office to dock the cameras.”
The Axon body cameras last upward of 16 hours, covering an officer’s standard shift. Additionally, Gibbs noted that the Axon cameras offer faster video download speeds.
The method of downloading footage from the current system is time-consuming, requiring officers to spend extended periods in the office, sometimes resulting in overtime.
“It [once] took a clerk six hours to download 45 minutes of video through our current system,” Gibbs said. “Axon actually has [artificial intelligence] programming in it, and essentially, we can type in keywords and it can take you right to that section of a video. It will speed up the time. Instead of spending six hours doing a download, our clerk may be doing two hours, so it’s gonna save them a ton of time as well.”
In addition to the body cameras, the department will implement 15 vehicle-mounted cameras, a new addition to its fleet. Gibbs explained that Axon representatives will provide hands-on training to ensure officers are prepared to use the new equipment.
The total cost of the two contracts will be nearly $1.1 million over 10 years. The annual cost for the body-worn cameras is $54,605.88, while the fleet cameras will cost $45,492.47 annually, including taxes. Gibbs noted this year’s budget has funds available to cover the first payments.
Gibbs explained that opting for a 10-year contract, rather than the standard five-year agreement, was a strategic decision to mitigate anticipated cost increases.
“Rarely are [costs] going to drop, and by locking us into a 10-year contract, not only do they get our business for 10 years, but it’s going to keep Woodland at the current interest rates and we don’t have to renegotiate the cost of equipment either,” Gibbs said.
The new body and fleet cameras are expected to be implemented in the second week of February 2025.
