Body-worn cameras for many of Gwinnett’s law enforcement officers cleared another piece of red tape Tuesday, with county commissioners awarding an initial contract to the vendor selected to provide them.
The cameras are expected to be up, running and recording by the middle of 2018.
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The $30,000 contract granted to Axon Enterprise on Tuesday will cover costs associated with licensing and set-up of cameras for Gwinnett’s police department, sheriff’s office and Department of Corrections, police Chief Butch Ayers said. The contract would have to be renewed in January and, over the following five years, would cost more than $4.4 million.
The Gwinnett County Police Department's motorcycle unit has used body cameras on a trial basis for more than a year, but the rest of the department — which is authorized for 789 officers but has more than 100 vacancies — is not yet equipped with the technology.
The police department accounts for about 64 percent of the county’s total contract with Axon and will receive 570 cameras, county spokeswoman Heather Sawyer said. Police Chief Butch Ayers said he would expect the cameras to be up and running in the “first or second quarter” of 2018.
The sheriff’s office, which runs the county jail and serves arrest warrants, will receive 280 cameras. The Department of Corrections, which runs the county prison and work detail programs, will receive 124 cameras.
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