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Medina police detail technology upgrades, PSAP routing and new Square cameras
Summary
Police Chief Kenny updated the Medina City Council on digital timekeeping, background-check and training software, new breath and fingerprint equipment, P25 radio console upgrades, direct 911 routing for some carriers and four-corner camera coverage of the Square.
Chief Kenny, chief of the Medina Police Department, told the Medina City Council the department completed several technology and training upgrades and has a handful of projects it plans to present for budget approval.
Those upgrades include an electronic timekeeping and scheduling system called PowerTime, a background-check platform called PowerVetted and a field-training recording tool called PowerReady. "So at the end of their 12 week training period, we can hit print and it'll give everything that they've been trained on, all the policies they've signed off on," Chief Kenny said, describing PowerReady as a "far more organized way" than the department's prior paper and Word-document practice.
The department also replaced an older breathalyzer device, moved from ink fingerprint cards to an electronic fingerprint system that submits prints to the state and NCIC, and upgraded dispatch radios to P25-compatible "symphony" consoles that connect dispatchers into the radio core and permit use of headsets that handle radio and 911 caller audio simultaneously.
Chief Kenny said the department completed a PSAP direct-call project so Verizon and AT&T cell-phone 911 calls placed inside the city route directly to Medina dispatchers rather than first to the county sheriff's office. "There is no delay. There's no interruption," Chief Kenny said. He added the city is still working with T‑Mobile to bring that carrier online.
To improve event monitoring and crash reconstruction on the Square, the department deployed a four-corner camera system. Each camera bundle includes two fixed cameras and one pan-tilt-zoom camera; Chief Kenny said the PTZ units are zoomed to capture mid-block crosswalks. He also said current camera signals are using cellular backhaul and that the department hopes to move them to fiber if local traffic-signal fiber becomes available.
Training remained a focus. Chief Kenny said officers continue to complete mandatory continuing professional training through the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy (OPOTA) and other in-state seminars; the department also holds annual active-shooter exercises that include Medina Township and Montville Township as mutual-aid partners. Two officers are enrolled in multi-month leadership academies, including the Ohio State University Public Safety Leadership Academy and an Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police leadership program.
On equipment, Chief Kenny said the department is evaluating a switch from .40-caliber service pistols to 9mm platforms and considering red-dot optics to improve accuracy and manageability for some officers. He said the department plans to narrow choices and present a purchase request to council later this year.
The chief answered questions about routing of out-of-area calls and tower-based routing logic, and he said the technology and training advances were among the items that will be reviewed during the council's upcoming budget process.
Ending: Chief Kenny said the department will bring specific purchase and budget requests to council for consideration; the council thanked him for the update.
