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Sheriff’s office outlines camera, cloud and drone purchases; board approves procurement
Summary
The sheriff’s office presented a plan to replace aging body and in‑car cameras, add interview‑room recording and cloud storage, and buy a drone; the board approved the purchases and discussed warranties, redaction software and data security.
Gratiot County Sheriff’s Office officials reviewed quotes to replace aging camera systems and to add cloud-based storage and redaction tools, telling commissioners the current equipment is more than a decade old and parts are becoming unavailable.
The sheriff’s presentation said a GTAC/GTech package would outfit deputies, corrections officers and animal control with body cameras, upgrade in-car cameras, update an interview room and provide cloud storage and support. The vendor presentation emphasized a five‑year “bumper‑to‑bumper” warranty, 24/7 stateside technical support, Microsoft Azure Government cloud hosting and geo‑redundant storage to reduce the risk of data loss. Redaction software and integration with prosecutor workflows were discussed as part of the package.
Cost and procurement: Presenters reported quotes that came in under the roughly $300,000 budgeted amount; the figure discussed in the meeting for equipment and installation was roughly $259,339. The board approved a motion to proceed; staff said the county would own the purchased equipment (rather than entering a large multiyear contract) and that the project includes replacement schedules, warranty service, and a plan to train staff on redaction tools.
Drone purchase and use: Sheriff’s staff also requested and received approval to buy a DJI Matrice series unmanned aerial system for $12,462.17 with three batteries and operator training. The sheriff’s office said drones have been used already in the county via mutual aid and that locally owned drones would shorten response time for missing-person searches, provide infrared/night capability, and support traffic and fire scenes.
Data security and operations: Presenters said the chosen cloud storage is CJIS‑compliant under Microsoft Azure Government, with geo‑redundant server farms and 24/7 Tier‑3 support. The vendor stated an advanced‑exchange warranty for five years, with next-step service arrangements after the warranty period. Commissioners asked about prosecutor access, redaction capability (video and audio), and operational practices for camera activation and downloading; staff said the new system would simplify FOIA redaction and allow automatic downloads when patrol vehicles return to the station via antenna-enabled offload.
Ending: The board approved the purchases; staff will finalize purchase orders, schedule installations and operator training, and return with implementation updates.
