Updated Sept. 10, 3:29 p.m.–
Sentinel staff report– The Citrus Heights City Council on Thursday voted unanimously to approve a $570,000 five-year contract with a San Diego-based tech company to equip all of its sworn police officers with body worn cameras.
According to a staff recommendation included in the council’s Sept. 9 agenda packet, funding for the contract will be partially provided by a public safety grant. Funds will be for either purchase or leasing of the camera systems from LensLock, Inc.
The agreement with LensLock will include a minimum of 90 cameras, unlimited and secure data storage, 24-hour technical support and automatic replacement every 30 months. It also includes a “no questions, damaged and broken” replacement policy within 72 hours.
Alex Turcotte, a police commander with Citrus Heights who was promoted to police chief on Friday, previously told The Sentinel that the department plans to have cameras be implemented “in early October.”
In a prior statement, he said body worn cameras are “fast becoming an industry standard” for law enforcement, noting research shows the technology enhances transparency and “can also be an effective educational tool for the community.”
Citing a University of Las Vegas study, Turcotte said police officers were shown to be able to “maintain proactivity with less use of force and lower complaints, as both officer and subjects know they are on video.”
The 2017 study assessed 400 Las Vegas police officers, some with cameras and some without, over a one-year period. During that period, the department saw misconduct complaints drop by 30% for those with body-worn cameras, along with a 37% decrease in use-of-force incidents among the same group.
