DVM-750 Contract Award - $70,000
** Looks like they are now producing and selling this new product
houstonconews.com.
Published - Wednesday, February 11, 2009
13 squad cars set for high-tech video at Sheriff’s Dept.
By Craig Moorhead for the Houston County News
Speeders, red-light runners, and law-breakers in general: Beware!
Houston County Sheriff’s Department will soon be outfitting 13 squad cars with a new system so impressive, the “caped crusader” would probably like to have one on the Batmobile. The new system was discussed at Tuesday’s meeting with the Houston County Board of Commissioners.
“DVM-750” is a digital in-car video system integrated into a rear view mirror. The system includes “voice vault,” a wireless microphone that the officer wears. It has a one-mile range. When the officer leaves the car, the digital recording from the cameras, internal microphone, and wireless microphone are all automatically joined together into a single recording of the event.
Chief Deputy Scott Yeiter explained how the system works. “The new system has the capability to record two cameras at the same time.... It also records in pure darkness because it has infrared capability.”
Retrofitting squad cars, he said, is simple. It involves little more than replacing the rear view mirror and hanging the new cameras. The improved cameras are actually cheaper than the old models, Yeiter said.
“Our current system is a VHS-8 system. The (tape) recorders are in the trunk of the car. Some of those are approaching 11 years old. We have a lot of issues with the quality of the video, and the audio sometimes is lacking.”
The new system records a continuous one-minute loop, so when the officer presses the button, the recording actually begins one minute in the past. Handy to catch someone who is sailing through a red light.
Yeiter was joined by county attorney Suzanne Bublitz, who explained that officers and members of her department currently have to sift through hours of video to extract evidence, a time-consuming and expensive process.
Yeiter said the digital files are automatically stamped with a date and time. They will be much easier to work with. File sharing will be possible, since all of the videos will be available on a central server. “The new system would be a huge time saver” he said.
Bublitz and some commissioners commented that if the digital recording system saves the county the cost of several jury trials each year, it would pay for itself quickly. “A good audio-video can make or break a case,” she said. “We have to keep up-to-date on technology. We’re trying to be efficient and settle these things without having to go to jury trials.”
Yeiter and finance director Casey Bradley asked commissioners to allow the sheriff’s department to execute a “re-alignment” of the 2009 capital budget to pay for the system. By keeping one squad car, which was set for replacement this year, and shifting other spending (notably items listed under “equipment”), the approximately $70,000 needed for the new system (including server upgrade) could be found, they both explained.. Commissioners voted unanimously to allow the sheriff’s department to purchase the system. |
