Marion County Sheriff Kevin Cripps has been given the green light to finalize a five year lease with Axon to provide body cams, in car cameras, and tasers to all sheriff’s deputies. The cost of the $444,170 lease will be paid from the quarter cent public safety tax.
“Every 5 years you are given these pieces of equipment. It’s a lease agreement. Every 2.5 years they give you new body cameras and also every 5 years they give you new in car camera’s. So you will always have the most up to date equipment.”
Cripps says any equipment damaged in the line of duty will be replaced.
He feels the cameras are good for both the public and officers. Cripps likes several of the special features.
“Software you have to redact. So if only one person in this room is involved in this case, then everybody else would have to be redacted or have a blur spot. So someone has to go through and do that. This software automatically does that, you just select the face you want to keep and it does it automatically. That will save tons of manpower in the end.”
Another special feature will allow communication officers to turn on an officers camera to make sure everything is okay if they don’t answer a status check. If a problem is spotted, additional help can be sent immediately.
Both Salem and Centralia Police are already successfully using Axon equipment. State’s Attorney Tim Hudspeth is happy with the video he is receiving for court cases and wants all police departments in the county to use the same system.
Cripps is unsure how long it will take to receive the equipment, but once it arrives they will begin training.
All law enforcement agencies are under a January 1st deadline to implement body cameras. Unfortunately Cripps says it is an unfunded mandate from the state legislature.
