Kalamazoo Public Safety: Amping up their tech game.

TLDR:

– The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety in Michigan has approved a $9-million contract to upgrade its electronic equipment, including patrol car cameras and body cameras.
– The current cameras are outdated, with some being 20 years old, making finding parts and maintaining reliability a challenge.

The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety in Michigan has received approval for a $9-million contract to upgrade its electronic equipment, including patrol car cameras and body cameras. The current equipment is outdated, with some cameras being 20 years old, leading to difficulties in finding parts and maintaining reliability. Chief Dave Boysen explained that the department is also running out of capacity to store the data collected by its 219 body cameras and 61 car cameras. To address this issue, the department will be converting to cloud storage. The upgrade will also include the addition of a device that activates the camera whenever an officer pulls out their gun or Taser, a feature that the old system did not have. Additionally, the department plans to replace their Tasers with new models that perform better in colder weather. The 10-year contract with Axon Enterprises includes training programs, regular maintenance, and equipment upgrades, as well as unlimited data storage. The deal was approved by the commissioners last week.