FY21 BWC - City of Hougton, MI

The City of Houghton Police Department (COHPD) is looking to expand its use of Body Worn Camera (BWC) technology in order to provide safety to the officers, transparency to all involved parties, and increased efficiency of the adjudication process. Every sworn officer’s duties involve daily contacts with the public; therefore, the goal of this proposal is to provide each officer with their own upgraded and dedicated BWC. Currently, the department has one new patrol vehicle with an upgraded in-car video system (Watchguard), and two other patrol vehicles with outdated and inefficient video systems that do not allow for integration of Digital Evidence Media (DEM). COHPD has ordered three new Watchguard BWC’s for the new in-car video systems that will allow the video captured from both the vehicle and the BWC to be secured and stored in the same format and location, ensuring an efficient and easily retrieval process. A new server has been installed for the sole purpose of housing DEM from the new software system.  The City of Houghton is seeking financial assistance in acquiring seven more body cameras from Watchguard for the new in-car video system to enable each sworn officer to have his/her own dedicated BWC, thus eliminating the need to share.

The overall goal is to expand the current BWC program and to have all DEM stored, catalogued, and easily retrieved in the Watchguard system.