The City of Baldwin met for their monthly meeting on Thursday, during which the council unanimously approved much-needed upgrades for Baldwin’s public safety departments, totalling more than $57,000.
The Baldwin Fire Department has made do with outdated computers for the last several years, and as the city works to improve their department and bring in new training options, the department was in desperate need of new computer technology.
The council voted unanimously to approve the purchase of two Microsoft Surface computers, which serve as both tablets and laptops, as well as Microsoft software and cybersecurity, for the department. The $6,603 dollar investment will be paid for with revenue from Baldwin’s speed zone.
In the police department, the city’s taser system is outdated, and Baldwin Police Cheif Jeff Branyon estimates the current system has about two years of life left. The council voted unanimously to enter into a five-year contract with Axon, a taser and body camera vendor, that would improve officer safety and department transparency.
The new taser system is integrated with the Axon body camera system. Whenever a taser is deployed, a weapon is drawn or a rifle is removed from an officer’s vehicle, a sensor detects this and automatically turns on the officer’s body camera. If a body camera turns on within 30 feet of another officer, their camera also begins recording.
For added transparency, when the officer’s camera is turned on, the camera also records the thirty seconds that passed before the camera was turned on. Video data is uploaded to a cloud database, where video recordings can easily be shared with courts.
“My goal is transparency, so when something happens, the first thing I’ll say is ‘let’s watch the video,'” Branyon told the council at their August work session. “We want to make sure we have it and that it’s available for us, the public, the media and everywhere that needs it.”
The new tasers are bright yellow, making it difficult for them to be confused with any other weapon, and is stored on the opposite side of the officer’s belt from their firearm. The taser itself also documents its use, storing data about when it was used, how many times it was deployed and other helpful information.
The new equipment will cost $50,620 in total, split over five years of payment. The first payment of $12,655 will be covered by speed zone revenue, and future payments will be budgeted for.
You can watch a recording of the meeting on the city’s Facebook page.
