BACKGROUND

In 2006, the Police Department performed extensive research and testing for all equipment needed for the Police Patrol Fleet.  Once models were approved, the Police Department scheduled all new Patrol vehicles to be equipped with a Panasonic Arbitrator Mark II in-car camera systems and a Datalux mobile computer system.  The Mark II system is no longer available and obtaining replacement parts has become a challenge. Additionally, the backend server software is no longer supported. Staff has been looking for a software and hardware upgrade to the current squad video system.

In January 2014, Panasonic released the Mark III system. The Mark III system has several advantages. This software is significantly improved and is more user friendly than the current system's software. The backend Mark III server software is compatible to  Mark II hardware, which allows both systems (Mark II and Mark III) to upload to one centralized server. This is a significant cost saving factor, as it does not require all squad cars to be upgraded to the new system at once. As new squad cars are put into service, they will be outfitted with the new Mark III in-car camera system. The equipment that will be put out of service will be kept for spare parts until all units have been outfitted with new hardware. The price for each Panasonic Arbitrator Mark III in-car camera kit is $5,415 per squad car and comes with a five year warranty.

The new system includes the following upgraded features:

• Higher resolution of video from cameras
• Better quality microphones for clearer audio
• Wireless video upload independent from cars mobile data computer 
• Ability to install up to 6 cameras and record 5 simultaneously
• Larger storage capacity in the vehicle to record more video

At the same time, the Police Department is seeking to replace its Datalux mobile data computers with Panasonic Toughbook computers as each squad car is replaced in the fleet. The Panasonic Toughbooks provide a cost savings, the best feature set, ruggedness, dependability and IT serviceability. The cost of a Panasonic Toughbook including docking station, mounts, antennas and cellular modem is at $5,675, which compares to $6,068 for the Datalux. The life expectancy for a Toughbook is between 6-8 years, depending on the computer's performance and on-line hours. 

Additionally, Datalux warranty service has become unreliable;  the average turnaround time for a repair stands at 6-8 weeks compared to Panasonic's 3-5 day turnaround. 

This equipment will be purchased under the State of Illinois joint purchasing program.

RECOMMENDATION

It is recommended that the Village Board authorize the purchase of four Panasonic Arbitrator Mark III in-car camera kits and four Panasonic CF-31 Toughbooks in an amount not-to-exceed $44,360 from CDS Office Technologies of Springfield, IL.