Milton OKs purchase of body, vehicle cameras for police

Milton has approved the $267,840 purchase of 30 body-worn cameras and 30 vehicle cameras for the police department from Utility Associates Inc. Provider’s photo shows how its cameras are integral to an officer’s uniform. UTILITY ASSOCIATES INC.

Milton has approved the $267,840 purchase of 30 body-worn cameras and 30 vehicle cameras for the police department from Utility Associates Inc. Provider’s photo shows how its cameras are integral to an officer’s uniform. UTILITY ASSOCIATES INC.

The Milton City Council has approved spending $267,840 to purchase and install in-car and body-worn cameras for the police department.

Utility Associates Inc. submitted the lower of two bids and was selected “both for the price quote and the overall product quality,” Police Chief Rich Austin said in an agenda report to the council.

According to Milton’s project specifications, the cameras were to outfit 30 officers and 30 vehicles, have wireless downloading and cloud-based data storage, and the system, a 5-year warranty, 24/7 technical support, and a 5-year, zero-percent payment plan.

In its bid to the city, Utility Associates noted that unlike a clip-on device, which can become dislodged and lost in a struggle, its body-worn cameras are integral to an officer’s uniform, carried inside an officer’s shirt. Other police departments using its system include those of Alpharetta, Marietta, Lilburn and Decatur and Fulton, Clayton and DeKalb counties.