The Stafford County Sheriff’s Department is about to get a tech upgrade.
The county’s Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved the purchase of new in-car cameras for the department’s cruisers. A total of $150,000 will come from the Sheriff’s Office Operating Budget to replace 19 cameras, as well as provide technical support for the new equipment.
The New Jersey-based company SF Mobile-Vision Inc. will supply the cameras. It informed the sheriff’s office back in 2018 that 80 of the department’s 114 in-car cameras would be obsolete and unsupported by August 2019. Last year, the department was able to replace 27 cameras and with this purchase, they’ll still have about 34 cameras that still need to be replaced.
These cameras are used to record deputies’ interactions with the public, and the video is archived for evidential purposes.
New countywide cell phone contract
Also Tuesday, we learned about a change that will affect the county’s fire and rescue department, which will change its cell phone service provider. The county has been experiencing issues with their current cellular provider, Verizon Wireless due to a degradation of service both of equipment and communication with the provider which has caused headaches and slowed response time, according to county officials.
After an extensive trial period, the county has chosen to sign a new contract with AT&T FirstNet for cellular service. The new deal allows gives priority to phone calls made by first responders over cellular data, unlike the previous contract that had emergency crews’ calls swimming in the same cellular pool as everyone else.
Currently, Stafford County pays $300,000 annually for 600 cellular phone lines 600 with Verizon Wireless. Under the new AT&T deal, the county will spend $100,000 annually. Furthermore, discounts and rebates could net the county $6,000 more in annual savings, county officials said.
FirstNet is a federally subsidized program designed for first responders. Virginia was the first state in the U.S. to opt into the program in July 2017 when it was signed in by then-Governor Terry McAuliffe. Since 2017, all 50 states, four territories, and the District of Columbia have all signed on with the program.
