FAIRFIELD — The Town Council decided this week to sign a contract with a new provider for police cameras to be placed inside patrol vehicles and worn by officers.
The decision Wednesday came after Chief Thomas Gould of the Fairfield Police Department told the council of repeated problems with the cameras and related equipment provided by a previous vendor, WatchGuard Inc.
The Police Department had been using the WatchGuard equipment for about a year, but Gould said there were problems with durability and battery life.
WatchGuard was later bought by the technology giant Motorola Solutions, and Gould said Motorola then stopped production of some equipment, so some camera parts are no longer available.
That prompted the council to switch to another vendor, Florida-based LensLock Inc. The move is expected to produce an initial savings of $10,720, Town Manager Michelle Flewelling said, and the upgrade is expected to reduce the cost of cloud storage by $22,000.
“Police departments across the state have been using equipment from LensLock and have received exceptional service,” Gould said. “The camera system is similar to Motorola and is very vibrant.”
LensLock provides two additional replacement cameras to address battery problems, Gould said, and the company has a comprehensive camera system for police cruisers.
The intention is to lease the equipment for five years, after which the department would own it, according to Gould.
Another reason for switching to LensLock is the storage it offers, he said. When Motorola equipment is discontinued, the company only provides camera data for another five years. But LensLock allows that information to be accessed in perpetuity.
Fairfield officials said they plan to budget about $14,500 in the first year of the town’s contract with LensLock, and then about $13,000 in each of the following four years to cover costs.
Fairfield is not the only community opting to use LensLock equipment. The Waterville City Council is planning to allocate $114,885 to buy police body cameras from LensLock.
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