West Deer police officers to get new body cameras

West Deer will be spending $68,700 to replace body cameras for its police officers, but without seeking competitive contract bids.

The township supervisors approved the purchase of 20 new cameras from Digital Ally, the current supplier, upon the recommendation of police Chief Robert Loper.

Township Manager Daniel Mator said the reason there was no competitive bidding is because of the nature of the cameras and its operating system.

He said the body cameras work in conjunction with the cameras in the police vehicles, and both work only by using software manufactured by Digital Ally.

“If you change one thing, then you have to change everything,” Mator said, adding that would involve an increased expenditure.

As a result, Mator said, the cameras are considered “specialized,” or proprietary equipment, and therefore are exempt from the state’s bidding requirements.

Loper said the cameras worn by the officers are activated by the vehicle cameras whenever they leave their police car.

He likes that aspect of the system because when officers arrive at the scene of an incident, they don’t have to think about turning on the cameras.

Then, when the officers pull into the police station parking lot, the camera video footage is automatically downloaded to a computer in the station, Loper said.

The current police cameras were obtained through a three-year lease and some are starting to malfunction, Loper told the supervisors.

“It makes more sense to purchase new ones rather than continually sending the old ones in for repairs,” he said.

Loper said money for the new cameras, which are being acquired on a five-year lease, is included in this year’s police budget.