Penobscot County sheriff’s deputies will quickly get physique and sprint cameras
Penobscot County Sheriff’s Workplace deputies may have body-worn and dashboard cameras beginning subsequent yr.
The cameras might be bought and put in at the beginning of 2024, Lt. Keith Hotaling stated at a Penobscot Board of Commissioners assembly Tuesday. The board accepted the acquisition through the assembly.
The sheriff’s workplace introduced in November 2022 that it will add the cameras. Police in Bangor added cameras in 2021, whereas Portland police began in 2019. Companies in Brewer, Outdated City and Orono all use cameras. Maine State Police have sprint cameras and introduced in 2022 that the company will add physique cameras in 2023, but it surely’s unclear if that has occurred. Spokesperson Shannon Moss wasn’t instantly obtainable for remark.
The primary yr will value Penobscot County no less than $243,000, together with shopping for the cameras, modems and set up, Hotaling stated. That was the price of two cameras every for 33 patrol deputies, however the sheriff’s workplace has since added three further deputies.
The contract with Motorola will final for 5 years and value $96,600 for the 4 years following the preliminary buy.
A part of the bundle contains synthetic intelligence that helps with redactions and getting ready information for distribution, Hotaling stated. These redactions embody issues corresponding to blocking juveniles, so minors can’t be seen in video footage that’s launched.
Detectives and administration staff is not going to put on cameras, simply the patrol deputies.
The division already has a coverage outlining when a deputy ought to and shouldn’t report. A deputy doesn’t should report when responding to a sexual assault and a few sorts home violence, Hotaling stated. The sheriff’s workplace labored with the Division of Justice to jot down the coverage.
A federal grant will cowl $66,000, whereas the sheriff’s workplace put away $65,000 from the 2023 capital reserve funds, Hotaling stated. The remaining cash — no less than $113,000 — will come from the 2024 price range, commissioners stated.
