Merced Police | Axon body cameras and connected camera tools
Merced approved a $1,812,168.51 Axon package with 108 body cameras, fleet cameras with plate reading, interview-room tools, Fusus integration, Tasers, and other services.
At a glance
How it happened
- Procurement
Council approves Officer Safety Plan 10
The consent-calendar item approves a $1,812,168.51 Axon package with 108 Body 4 cameras and several connected camera, evidence, feedback, and Taser products. [1]
What the city approved
On September 16, 2024, the City Council approved a $1,812,168.51 Axon Officer Safety Plan 10 on the consent calendar. Staff described a term running from September 2024 through September 2028.[1]
The package lists 108 Axon Body 4 cameras, described as 98 units plus 10 spares. It also names fleet cameras with license plate recognition, Axon Interview, Fusus Basic, My90, Performance, Tasers, cloud evidence services, and other support. The total is a bundled price, not a body-camera-only cost.[1]
How the camera systems connect
The staff report says the department already had a real-time intelligence operation. It describes Fusus as a way to combine feeds from drones, traffic cameras, privately provided mobile video, building security cameras, and robots. The record establishes the licensed capability, but it does not list every feed currently connected.[1]
The reviewed record also does not state the number of fleet cameras, the number with plate reading enabled, the retention settings for each data type, or the agencies with access.
Questions
- How many body cameras did Merced approve?
- The staff report lists 108 Axon Body 4 cameras, described as 98 units plus 10 spares. [1]
- Is $1.8 million the body-camera price?
- No. The amount covers a bundled Axon package that also includes Tasers, fleet cameras, Fusus, interview-room tools, feedback and performance products, and services. [1]
- Does the package include license plate reading?
- Yes. The staff report names Axon fleet cameras with license plate recognition. [1]
- What can Fusus connect?
- The staff report says Fusus can integrate feeds from drones, traffic cameras, private mobile video, building cameras, and robots into the department's real-time operation. [1]
What we do not know
- What does each product and service cost within the bundled agreement?
- How many fleet cameras have license plate reading enabled, and what governs their data?
- Which feeds are connected to Fusus, who can view them, and how is access audited?
- What retention settings and external access roles are configured in Evidence.com?
What you can do
Show up
Systems like this one are approved by boards, councils and committees that meet in public. We have not yet confirmed where each of them meets in Merced County.
What we have documented in Merced County →Protect yourself
Practical steps to shrink your personal data trail. Our guides publish at launch; until then, EFF's Surveillance Self-Defense is the best starting point.
Surveillance Self-Defense →Sources
- 1. Merced City Council staff report and action, September 16, 2024 · Meeting record · · accessed · archived copy
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