Council approves Guardian Tracking early‑warning software for police; public raises privacy questions
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Summary
The Lake Havasu City Council approved a three‑year contract to buy Guardian Tracking, an early‑warning employee‑monitoring system for the police department, with first‑year costs of $11,355 and a three‑year total of $32,065.
The Lake Havasu City Council on Tuesday approved purchase and implementation of Guardian Tracking, an early‑warning and employee‑performance tracking system from Target Solutions, LLC (DBA Vector Solutions), for the police department.
Captain Williams told the council the system “will serve as an essential tool for enhancing the department's ability to monitor and support our employees proactively.” He described features including customizable thresholds and real‑time alerts tied to metrics such as citizen complaints, uses of force, and vehicle pursuits. The city vetted three vendors and selected Guardian Tracking as the lowest‑cost option that met departmental requirements.
Fiscal details presented to the council show a three‑year agreement with a first‑year cost of $11,355 plus applicable fees and taxes (first‑year price includes implementation and on‑site training) and year‑two and year‑three costs of $10,355 each, for a total contract value of $32,065 over three years. Captain Williams said the system aggregates data the department already collects and centralizes it so supervisors can identify patterns, intervene early, and document interventions that could be relevant to training or legal reviews.
Several members of the public raised concerns about oversight, data access, and whether the system would act as a barrier between residents and complaint processes. Resident Emiliano Torres asked why the software was needed when the department already has supervisors and training; he said systems can be gamed and expressed concern about an automated layer between residents and the police. Aaron Cochran asked how oversight and record access would be handled and whether third parties or vendor servers would hold the data.
Captain Williams responded that the system is not AI‑driven, does not create new categories of data, and will centralize records already held by the department. He told the council that public‑records requests (open‑records requests) would continue to apply and that the system can streamline generation of records for disclosure. Council member David Diaz moved approval of the order form, Schedule A and the master SaaS agreement and authorized the city manager to execute the contract; the motion passed 7‑0.
The city and police department said they will continue to field resident questions and that implementation will include training for supervisors on thresholds and intervention procedures.
