The Batavia Police Department will soon be getting new body cameras with AI features, after the Batavia City Council on Monday OK’d a five-year contract with Axon Enterprise, Inc.
This will be a new contract for the department, as its current five-year contract with Midwest Public Safety for Getac body-worn cameras for officers is expiring in March, according to a memo from Batavia Police Chief Eric Blowers.
As its current contract ends, the department considered three different vendors, including its current vendor, per the memo. The Axon contract was the most expensive of the three options, coming in at just under $765,000 for five years.
That amounts to a little under $153,000 annually, and paying for the contract in five installments will not lead to any interest or penalty, per the memo.
At a Batavia City Council Committee of the Whole meeting in September when the new contract was discussed, Blowers said the department will be putting the yearly payments into its annual budget requests starting next year.
The contract includes the body cameras, in-car cameras and the associated digital evidence management systems, the memo said.
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At the September Committee of the Whole meeting, Blowers said part of the reason for the higher price tag on the Axon contract was because the department had refined the quote with Axon to include some AI features.
“These cameras are a lot more than just cameras,” Blowers, who called Axon the “gold standard” for body camera equipment, said at the meeting. “It does a lot more than just record the officers’ interaction with the public.”
Blowers said Axon’s services include AI features like an auto-transcription tool that he said will increase efficiency in writing police reports, and a live translation feature on the body cameras. They also offer an AI-assisted tool for making redactions on body camera footage for release.
Asked about the AI tools, Blowers said officers will still have to review and sign off on the transcripts to make sure they’re accurate.
As of Jan. 1, 2025, all police officers in Illinois were required to wear body cameras while on duty, one of the significant mandates of the controversial 2021 SAFE-T Act, according to past reporting. Larger departments had to be in compliance in 2022, and midsize departments had deadlines in 2023 and 2024.
At the Committee of the Whole meeting, Ald. Tony Malay suggested that the technology may be a draw for recruiting officers. And Ald. Kevin Malone asked what effects the new technology will have on public safety, accountability and accurate reporting.
Blowers said the department is already performing all the responsibilities the new services would provide, but these services will enable them to do those tasks more efficiently.
After getting a recommendation for approval from council members at the Committee of the Whole meeting, the matter went on to the full City Council meeting on Monday, where it received final approval.
At that meeting, Blowers again noted the cost, but spoke of the benefits the contract would offer the department.
“It is an expensive product,” he said, “but we do think it’s an investment that also positions us well for future innovations, as Axon is kind of the leader in the business in terms of innovating for law enforcement technology.”
Blowers also noted that using Axon will allow the department to directly share evidence with the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office, which also uses Axon. Currently, he said, department employees have to download all the footage and upload it.
And Ald. Tim Lanci reiterated that, although it’s costlier, the Axon services will eliminate some of the report writing and other tasks officers have to do.
“I look at this as just getting more bodies on the street more often,” Lanci said.