County of Stettler council approved a five-year, $39,600 Motorola dash camera service for all three Protective Services vehicles, replacing an unsupported system that lacks backup redundancy. Credit: Unsplash

County of Stettler council has approved a $39,600 upgrade to the dash camera systems used in its three Protective Services vehicles at its Aug. 26 regular council meeting.

Council selected a five-year managed service plan from Motorola Solutions. The agreement will cost $7,920 annually, plus applicable taxes, with funding available through the Protective Services capital budget.

The county’s existing in-car camera system has reached the end of its working life and is no longer supported by the manufacturer. It also lacks backup redundancy, creating a risk that equipment failures could interrupt video recording or make important evidence unavailable.

Dash camera footage is used to document traffic enforcement and other interactions with the public. It can also support officer safety, complaint investigations and prosecutions.

The Motorola package includes two-camera systems for each vehicle, wireless microphones, installation, LTE connectivity, evidence management and storage, technical support and remote training.

Administration told council the managed service approach will allow the county to keep its equipment current as technology changes. Motorola will retain ownership of the hardware, reducing the likelihood that the county will be left with outdated equipment that is no longer supported.

The service will also provide offsite data storage on Canadian-based servers. Administration said the added redundancy will help protect evidentiary footage if local equipment or storage systems fail.

Motorola’s proposal was $16,115.10 less than the comparable five-year proposal from Axon Enterprise, which totalled $55,715.10 before additional costs for certain features.

A third option involved purchasing Motorola equipment through Prairie Mobile for $15,129.17 per vehicle. That option did not include server space or ongoing support. County information technology staff estimated a server would cost approximately $30,000 and would not provide backup redundancy.

Before signing the agreement, administration will confirm the final contract terms and correct the customer information. The quotation supplied with the council report incorrectly identified the Town of Stettler rather than the County of Stettler No. 6.

Installation will be scheduled to limit the number of Protective Services vehicles out of service at the same time.

The existing cameras will continue operating until the replacements are installed.