Springfield Police Commissioner John Barbieri announced on Monday February 11th, Winbourne Consulting has been awarded the contract to oversee the implementation of body-worn cameras for the Springfield Police Department.
Commissioner Barbieri selected Winbourne Consulting on Friday January 18th and the consulting contract was recently finalized through the city of Springfield’s Procurement Department.
Commissioner Barbieri said, “Awarding this contract is a major step towards implementing Body Worn Cameras. We will move this process along as quickly as possible, but just as important we want to make sure it is done efficiently. This process will not only benefit our officers, but also the city taxpayers in the long-term.”
The Office of Procurement received one bid for a Body Worn Camera consultant. Winbourne Consulting, LLC. out of Rosslyn, Virginia will receive $300,500.
“This initiative is something that I and Commissioner Barbieri have steadfastly believed in. With all our proactive public safety programs, this will only continue to enhance mutual respect and trust with all of our Springfield community. My administration, through our CAFO TJ Plante, has made this a funding priority,” said Mayor Domenic J. Sarno.
Winbourne Consulting has begun working with the City and is planning to assist in putting out a Request for Information (RFI) to research the latest Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) systems available in the market.
Winbourne Consulting has been assisting the City of Waco, Texas to complete a Body Worn Camera System project, is assisting the city of Virginia Beach in its Body Worn Camera implementation and is providing consulting services with Bellevue, Washington to perform a feasibility study of Body-Worn cameras.
The consultant will be providing services including, but not limited to obtaining a new Body Worn Camera System, solicitation development, contract negotiation, implementation and continued trainings. The services provided will be a comprehensive approach to the coordination and administration of a
Body Worn Camera system, including compliance verification processes and risk mitigation processes.
The hiring of this consultant has begun the first phase of the project. The first phase will include an initial study and development of best practices. This is where information is gathered for a feasibility study.
Simultaneously, Winbourne, the Springfield Police Department and the Procurement Department will work together to put out a Request for Information to better understand which systems are available. The benefits of the (RFI) include:
- Zero cost to the city to complete an (RFI) process
- City personnel will have enhanced knowledge of Body Worn Camera Systems
- Will develop a Springfield specific Body Worn Camera System strategic plan
- Will identify any factors that may impact the Total Cost of Ownership for a Body Worn Camera System.
- Will help streamline the procurement process for a Body Worn Camera System
In the 2nd phase the city will then issue a "Request for Proposals" for the new cameras and for its storage needs for the videos and the 3rd and final phase will be rolling out the program.
The city expects to use a mix of city bond funds, city budget funds and potential grants to finance the cost of the camera program.
The International Brotherhood of Police Officers, Local 364, representing Springfield Patrolmen mutually agreed to a contract with Mayor Domenic J. Sarno in June, which included the use of Body Worn Cameras for patrolmen. This contract was later approved by the City Council.