TO: Mayor and City Commission
FROM: Cale Curtis, City Manager
DATE: June 2, 2021
Title
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF MARGATE, FLORIDA, RESOLUTION TO WAIVE BIDDING AND APPROVE AN AGREEMENT OF THE ACQUISITION OF PRODUCTS, WARRANTY, TRAINING, AND REPAIR SERVICES FROM AXON ENTERPRISES INCORPORATED FOR THE OFFICER SAFETY PLAN 7+ TO EQUIP OUR SWORN POLICE PERSONNEL WITH BODY WORN CAMERAS, REPLACE EXISTING TASERS TO THE UPGRADED MODEL, ACQUIRE UPGRADED INTERVIEW ROOM CAMERAS AND A NEWLY CONSTRUCTED REPORT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM. THIS PROPOSED AGREEMENT IS OVER A FIVE-YEAR PERIOD AT A TOTAL COST NOT TO EXCEED $1,499,996.30.
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BACKGROUND: Since 2014, the Margate Police Department has been exploring options to outfit its sworn personnel with body-worn cameras. Research has shown body-worn cameras can help improve the high-quality public service expected of police officers and promote the perceived legitimacy and sense of procedural justice that communities have about their police departments. Furthermore, departments that are already deploying body-worn cameras report that the presence of cameras often improve the performance of officers as well as the conduct of the community members who are recorded. This is an important advance in policing. Body-worn cameras can create a public record that allows the entire community to see what really happened as opposed to a narrative created by an onlooker or a short edited cell phone video. Our trials have shown that the Axon product is the most effective and compatible with the systems obtained by the Broward County State Attorney's Office which will help mainstream the case filing process. See background memorandum for further details. Neighboring jurisdictions, such as Coral Springs and Coconut Creek, are also streamlining legal services by obtaining the Axon product line. With Axon services, body worn camera footage along with entire case files can be electronically submitted to the Broward County State Attorney's Office and...
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