Shafter council OKs $3.5M for police camera system

The Shafter City Council voted unanimously to approve a body-worn camera system at a cost of approximately $3.5 million over a 10-year period.

Interim Police Chief Randy Mulligan told the council that the department has been studying different systems and selected the AXON system as the most cost-effective and advanced of the systems that were looked at.

The AXON system includes body-worn cameras, worn by officers, as well as a taser program, in addition to several other items that come with the package.

One of those additional items is the drone program and fleet cameras, which includes license-plate reading devices, as well as cameras that can be used by business owners or other individuals in the city of Shafter. The users can wear a body camera, and stay in contact with the police dispatcher with the touch of a button on the camera.

A presentation was shown to the audience that included a demonstration of a store clerk that was wearing a camera. When he was confronting an individual in the store, the clerk hit a button on the camera and was linked to a dispatcher, who was able to see the situation through the camera worn by the clerk.

This system also can be used to implement operate its drones, as well as use its cameras stationed at different areas of the city.

The cost for the city would be about $360,000 annually, bringing the total to around $3.5 million for a 10-year contract.

The council also approved creation of a Community Facilities District in the Gossamer Grove area developed by Lennar Homes.

The tax will help with the maintenance of the parks, pathways and landscaping. To be approved, a special election is required to approve the special tax that would be levied to homeowners in the district. It was reported by the city clerk that there were no registered voters residing in the affected area of Gossamer Grove that would be charged the proposed tax. By law, the landowners – Lennar Homes – were given 33 votes for the area and voted all of the votes in favor of the proposed tax, allowing the resolution to pass.

The tax levied on the possible residents in the affected area would be $444 annually for residential, and nonresidential property will be levied a tax of $3,112 per acre.