The Schertz City Council approved Resolution 23-R-111 on October 10, 2023, authorizing expenditure with Axon Enterprise, Inc. to purchase body-worn and in-car cameras and taser replacements. The Schertz Police Department has identified the need to replace the outdated recording system (WatchGuard) in the interview and intoxilyzer rooms. Staff recommends contracting with Axon Enterprise, a Buyboard cooperative vendor, for a new video recording system. Section 271.102 of the Texas Local Government Code authorizes local governments to participate in a cooperative purchasing program and purchases made pursuant to a cooperative purchasing program satisfies the requirement of the local government to seek competitive bids for the purchase of goods or services.

Contracting with Axon for the new video recording system will facilitate integration with the previously purchased body-worn and in-car camera systems.

AXON Interview Solutions enables an agency to record video of witness and suspect interviews, add descriptive metadata, and automatically transfer it to AXON Evidence.com. It offers robust security features and comprehensive platform support, providing crucial and defensible evidence for prosecution. The AXON Interview Room Solution records important interviews using redundant, high-quality video and audio technology. It also allows real-time marking and annotation of footage. This system seamlessly integrates with the Police Department's existing AXON Evidence.com, AXON Fleet 3 video recording system, AXON Body cameras, and AXON Electronic Less Lethal Taser platforms.

The City of Schertz has experienced a rise in crime and alcohol-related incidents where recording witnesses and suspects is necessary for potential prosecution. It is crucial to have high-quality, timely, and accurate interview recordings. Uploading these recordings into the Evidence.com suite application will benefit the city and its residents by providing accurate and timely evidence. This process will also reduce the burden of multiple downloads and the risk of carrying fragile evidence by hand.
 

Approval of Resolution 24-R-137 authorizing a contract with Axon Enterprises for the purchase of a video recording system for the Schertz Police Department Interview and Intoxilyzer Rooms.

The city's fiscal impact will be $52,556.55. This project was budgeted for in FY 2023-24 and staff will include this item in the next budget adjustment brought before council to move any unused funds into the new Fiscal Year.

Approval of Resolution 24-R-137 authorizing a contract with Axon Enterprises for the purchase of a video recording system for the Schertz Police Department Interview and Intoxilyzer Rooms.