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Tampa police solicit vendor bids for body-mounted cameras

 
The Tampa Police Department is taking bids to eventually equip all 750 officers with body cameras like the one shown above on a Minneapolis officer.
The Tampa Police Department is taking bids to eventually equip all 750 officers with body cameras like the one shown above on a Minneapolis officer.
Published Nov. 11, 2014

TAMPA — The Tampa Police Department is soliciting vendor bids to outfit 60 officers with body cameras, with a goal of eventually providing them to all 750 officers who patrol the city.

A request for proposals, filed late last month with the city's purchasing department, outlines plans for the cameras, which will be used to keep records of officer interactions with citizens.

The department will purchase the first 60 from a selected vendor and distribute 20 each to the city's three patrol districts, Tampa police spokeswoman Andrea Davis said. The first cameras will be issued to officers on Jan. 1.

Each district employs 250 sworn officers who work 12-hour shifts. The request for proposals states that the department hopes to be able to issue cameras to officers for their individual use. But the costs associated with maintaining the cameras might necessitate a camera "pool," allowing officers to check out cameras at the start of their shifts and turn them in at the end. The cameras can cost between $400 and $1,000 apiece.

Among other requirements listed in the request, the selected cameras must be easy to activate during stressful situations, with preference given to models that can be triggered to record automatically. The devices must also be easily mounted to the outermost piece of an officer's uniform and have the capacity for the recordings to be reviewed in a patrol vehicle.

Officers will be unable to edit or delete recordings, according to the requirements. The department is also seeking to purchase a computer server to preserve digital video evidence.

Bids from camera vendors will be taken through Dec. 1, after which the city will select one.

The cameras represent a trend among law enforcement agencies nationwide. Many civic and community leaders have called for their expanded use in the wake the summer protests in Ferguson, Mo., over the police shooting of an unarmed teen. Proponents of their use say they promote accountability and increase resident safety.

The cameras were first introduced in February 2012 in Rialto, Calif., where after one year, use of force by officers fell nearly 60 percent and complaints against officers plummeted 88 percent.

Top officials in several local police departments, including St. Petersburg and Clearwater, have expressed interest in the cameras. Earlier this year, the Plant City Police Department announced plans to purchase 40 of the devices.