OCEAN CITY – Ocean City Council approved a $583,453 contract with Axon Enterprise Inc. for the lease of body-worn cameras (BWC) for the police department. Following the initial cost of $163,075, the contract will extend through 2028 at a cost of $105,094 yearly.
According to a letter from Ocean City Police Chief Bill Campbell, the command staff, including he and Lt. Mark Pancoast, conducted comprehensive research and analysis resulting in the contract with Axon. “Axon is the industry leader in body worn camera technology. Most law enforcement agencies in the region use the Axon platform, which assists with mutual aid services, evidence processing and interoperability,” the letter states.
The Axon cameras will replace the Watch Guard units, some of which have been in operation since 2020 when officers were first required to wear them as part of their uniform.
“Dependability, availability of repairs/parts and technology advancements have resulted in our need to replace the Watch Guard units,” the letter states, noting that the Watch Guard units still in operation would be used by Special Law Enforcement Officer Class II members of the OCPD.
The contract includes 40 cameras for the uniformed patrol division and related services, including hardware refresh, service and support, software applications, licensing, signal sidearm activation, docking stations and uniform mounts.
“Every aspect of the BWC program is covered for five years — including upgrades, replacements, service, support and training,” the letter states. “The proposed Axon BWC is the evolution of technology, accountability, durability and safety.”
Features include:
— Wireless full-time 5G connection to secure Axon cloud for storage and remote functions
— Improved battery life, increased image and video ratios, improved security footage with 256 encryption
— Ability to receive alerts and locate users on live maps, upload video remotely and communicate bi-directionally
— More points of view — ability to capture unique perspectives with optional point of view camera modules
— BWC wireless activation (supervisor function)
— Incident command live stream and mapping
— Seamless integration with Axon Evidence, a secure law enforcement cloud-based evidence storage and redaction application
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
