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Council backs law-enforcement assisted diversion MOU and five-year Axon body-camera extension
Summary
Plainfield advanced a county-funded LEAD diversion MOU pairing police with Trinitas case managers for pre-arrest diversion in certain low-level offenses and approved a five-year Axon contract to continue body-worn cameras, projected to save about $415,000 over five years.
The Plainfield City Council received presentations and signaled consensus to add to the voting meeting two police-related items: (1) an MOU to participate in a Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program funded by Union County opioid-settlement dollars that would divert qualifying nonviolent, low-level cases to counseling and rehab rather than prosecution, and (2) a five-year contract extension with Axon for body-worn cameras.
Police/VA (Speaker 10) said the LEAD MOU is county-funded and would not cost the city. Under the program, an on-site team at the police department will screen individuals for eligibility (examples cited: certain nonviolent municipal ordinance violations or theft under $500). If the complainant declines prosecution and the person meets program criteria, Trinitas case managers would provide case management and connect participants to counseling, rehab and mental-health services. The council asked whether Trinitas staff would be stationed at the police department; staff confirmed two Trinitas employees will be assigned to Plainfield to manage cases and follow participants.
Separately, the council heard that the five-year Axon contract will extend the current provider relationship for body-worn cameras and that committing to five years would yield an estimated savings of about $415,000 over the contract term; Axon is a state-approved vendor so a separate bidding process was not required for this extension.
Council members asked about language and cultural fit in hiring Trinitas staff and whether services will be accessible in the city’s languages; officials said that will be discussed with the provider and that the city would raise language-access needs.
The items were added to the voting meeting for final action; operational details (eligibility criteria, complainant consent, staffing, and language access) were flagged for implementation planning.
