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Lakewood budget adds co-responder clinicians and invests in police technology; councilors raise surveillance questions
Summary
Council heard that three new mental-health co-responder clinicians (grant-funded) were included in the proposed budget and that the police department continues investments in a real-time crime center, upgraded records management and drone/camera tools; councilors asked about community concerns and procurement terms for stationary cameras.
Lakewood’s police and public safety brief included funding for three mental-health co-responder clinicians and a description of ongoing investments in technology to support response and reporting.
Chief Smith told council that the budget recommends three new co-responder clinician positions — some funded through grants for limited terms — to provide crisis intervention and connect residents to services. “The addition of the 3 corresponders will be put to great use,” Chief Smith said. He said the positions reduce call time for uniformed officers and enable more preventative outreach.
On technology, staff described upgrades to a records management system, Axon report-writing tools and a planned real-time crime center. Smith said that the combination of body-worn cameras, automated tools and drone support can reduce report-writing time by about 20% and, in some cases, reduce call responses when the department can use camera/drone information to determine whether officer deployment is necessary. He said early data show the tools can shorten response time and that the department aims to shift officers to more targeted duties as call volumes fall.
Councilors raised concerns about stationary and automated cameras in neighborhoods. Councilor Agarero asked about expanding camera deployments in Ward 2 and constituent questions about surveillance. Chief Smith said legal review and statute limit surveillance uses and that contracts with vendors must protect the city; he also said the initial RFP vendor’s contract terms were not acceptable and legal is renegotiating contract language to protect the city before moving forward with a fixed-camera vendor.
Chief Smith and councilors discussed drone use, with Smith saying drones speed scene assessment and can be useful for de-escalation and faster situational awareness. He emphasized constitutional and statutory limits on surveillance and that operations must comply with privacy protections.
Ending: Councilors accepted the overview and asked for additional written follow-up on camera placement, procurement protections and metrics for the co-responder programs; staff agreed to provide the requested details in upcoming budget materials.
