The City of Rochester has begun shopping for vendors to get its police body-camera program off the ground. Proposals are due by July 31, with the intent of selecting a vendor or vendors by December 1.
Most of the language in the city’s request for proposals (see below) seems boilerplate, but you can glean a little bit, too, about the city’s thinking on the subject. (City officials haven’t yet laid out the program’s how’s, when’s, where’s, and who’s.)
For example, under a section titled “camera requirements,” the city asks vendors if their cameras can record audio and video for a minimum of six continuous hours.
Some of the other features asked about: the ability to record a minimum 30 frames per second, to capture conversations from 3 feet away and in low-light or night conditions, to prevent modification of original data (presumably so no one can tamper with the recordings), and to lock data so only specific people can view or copy a recording.
The city’s paperwork says that the cameras will be used by 480 of the 725 sworn members of the Rochester Police Department. And the city wants vendors to provide 12 cameras free of charge for four weeks in September for a field test/evaluation.