The Village of Mahomet Board of Trustees approved funds for eight in-car cameras and 11 body-worn cameras (BWC) for the Mahomet Police Department in December.
The cameras were part of the FY 2023 budget projections, but Chief Mike Metzler came to the Trustees early to secure funding in FY 2022 ($11,250.31) after quotes from Axon, which would replace dated in-car cameras and provide options for body cameras and Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs).
Funding for FY 2023 will be $31,000.
Metzler began exploring options to upgrade squad car cameras, which are seven years old. His reports state that the Department has spent a lot of time keeping the cameras operational.
Under the SAFE-T Act passed by the state in 2021, police officers will be required to wear body cameras by 2025.
While MPD believes that BSC’s are an excellent tool to provide officers and the public with protection. They provide a level of accountability for the officers and the public alike”, the department had put off incorporating them into the department because of “back-end” costs such as management of video data.
Calling ALPR’s a “useful tool for law enforcement in the investigations into serious criminal activity, including the escalating gun violence,” Metzler said the cameras placed in fixed locations will be deployed by the police department. The rear license plate readers are already used by the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office and the Rantoul Police Department. Metzler said access to these ALPRs helped solve a crime in Mahomet.
The Sheriff’s Office has installed an ALPR north on Prairieview Road, north of Tin Cup.
The annual lease cost is $2,500 per camera. Metzler has applied for a Northern & Middle States Rural Law Enforcement Assistance Program grant specifically to fund the in-car cameras for two years, but also the cost of nine ALPR cameras for two years.
Entering into the agreement with Axon by Dec. 2021 added additional savings to the contract. Billing will begin in May 2022. The BWCs are expected to be available to the MPD in early 2022.
