Tumwater staff outline timeline, staffing and procurement challenges for police body‑worn camera program
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Summary
Deputy Chief/Commander Mason presented a conservative timeline for Tumwater’s body‑worn and in‑car camera program, noting 21 implementation tasks, staffing delays, vendor lead times and integration challenges with existing records and evidence systems; the committee asked for quarterly updates and invited council participation in vendor demos.
Deputy Chief (Commander) Mason briefed the Tumwater Public Health and Safety Committee Feb. 11 on a conservative timeline to implement body‑worn and in‑car camera systems, stressing the program’s technical complexity, staffing needs and procurement steps. No formal action was taken; council members asked for regular updates and to be invited to vendor demonstrations.
Mason told the committee the body‑worn camera program was included in the city’s 2025–26 biennium budget but that several staffing and administrative steps remain. He said the department had identified "21 separate tasks that have to be implemented" and, if laid end to end, those tasks would amount to about 45 months of work — a worst‑case accounting meant to illustrate complexity. Mason said the department is aiming for a much shorter, conservative timeline and would "look for ways to deploy this program...as effectively and efficiently as possible."
Committee members and staff discussed lessons from neighboring agencies. Mason cited implementations in Lacey and Yelm at about 12 months and Olympia and Thurston County at about 18 months; he said vendor demonstrations typically took about three months to schedule and equipment delivery could also add months. Laura, staff working on the records management system consortium, told the committee that "each jurisdiction still runs the RMS slightly differently" and that evidence and digital‑evidence integrations must be handled on a per‑department basis.
Staffing and facilities were highlighted as potential bottlenecks. Mason said some positions included in the budget — an administrative sergeant and a police service specialist — cannot be hired until July 1; an IT role central to the project is being retitled and is likely to start later in the first half of 2025. Mason said the department is "currently, at functional max capacity within our building" and the city is pursuing additional facilities expected in mid to late 2025.
Council members pressed for options to accelerate the schedule. Several members suggested concurrent work streams (for example, starting the needs assessment while recruiting staff) and offered to participate in RFP review and vendor demonstrations. Mason said the department is pursuing a project manager contract to help manage vendor selection and implementation and that a careful needs assessment is necessary to avoid repeating earlier problems with in‑car camera procurement.
Next steps: Staff will provide the committee with timeline updates and information about vendor demonstrations; council members requested quarterly updates and to be invited to demonstrations and policy‑drafting discussions.
