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Geary County sheriff seeks $103,000 jail camera system; commission defers to capital-improvement schedule
Summary
Geary County Sheriff Nate Beckman presented a detention-grade camera and control-room proposal from Iron Aid Alert on Sept. 24 to improve monitoring in the county's older jail wing; the vendor quoted about $103,000 and an eight-to-nine week lead time, and commissioners said they would review the request through the Oct. 27 CIP process.
Sheriff Nate Beckman told the Geary County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 24 that the county's older jail wing lacks adequate in-cell safety monitoring and presented a vendor proposal to install a detention-grade camera and control-room system. The sheriff said the proposal would reduce safety risks created by low overnight staffing and gaps in cell coverage.
Why it matters: County officials said the existing camera coverage and cell infrastructure are limited on the older portion of the jail and that during nights and other low-staff periods a technological solution could provide more reliable oversight than is possible with a single correctional officer on rounds.
What was proposed
- Vendor and scope: The sheriff brought a proposal from Iron Aid Alert (co-owner Jordan Smith attended) to install roughly 48 cameras inside the detention area, plus two outdoor PTZ cameras to monitor the east side of the facility and a centralized control room with monitoring screens and server upgrades. The system includes microphones and AI-enabled alerts to flag tampering and other events, according to the presentation.
- Cost and timing: The proposal presented to the board totaled about $103,000 (staff described this as an estimate); two exterior PTZ cameras were listed at about $3,200 each. The vendor stated an expected installation lead time of eight to nine weeks from order. Jordan Smith said the company would honor the quoted price through the county's Oct. 27 capital-improvement plan (CIP) deadline if the county preferred to follow its normal procurement schedule.
- Staffing and operations: The sheriff noted that the older jail wing often has only one officer on duty overnight and said additional surveillance coverage would reduce risk without adding multiple full-time corrections positions. The county's public-safety and facilities discussions also raised the longer-term cost of transferring or reusing systems if the jail is renovated or replaced in future.
Commission response and next steps
Commissioners expressed support for the sheriff's safety goals but emphasized the need to follow the county's established CIP and procurement process. Several commissioners said they would not short-circuit the capital-request schedule and suggested the item be considered during the Oct. 27 CIP meeting; the vendor agreed to hold the quoted price through that date. The county did not approve procurement at the Sept. 24 meeting.
Speakers and sources for this article are drawn from the meeting record.
