Council committees back hospital-linked violence program; police seek $58,000 crash-data kit
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Summary
The Public Safety Committee approved sending a hospital-linked violence-intervention pilot to council and heard a police request to buy a Crash Data Retrieval kit (~$58,000 plus $1,500 annual licensing). Police said in‑house downloads of vehicle event data would speed investigations and integrate with new reconstruction software.
The Public Safety Committee voted to advance two public-safety items to full council: a contract ordinance to implement a hospital-linked violence-intervention pilot and a request to purchase a crash-data retrieval (CDR) system for the police crash-reconstruction team.
On the violence-intervention pilot, city staff and Minority Behavioral Health Group (doing business as Akron Community Development Association) described a program that places intervention staff in hospitals to connect victims in crisis with resources. Councilmembers said the work complements existing community violence-prevention efforts and supported sending the ordinance to council with a favorable report.
Police and reconstruction specialists then described a proposed purchase of a Crash Data Retrieval system from Crash Data Group for about $58,000 and a $1,500 annual subscription. Sergeant Carson of the Crash Reconstruction Team explained that the kit downloads vehicle event data stored by manufacturers — five seconds of pre-crash telemetry including speed, RPM, braking and airbag deployment — and that many modern vehicles require manufacturer-specific proprietary cables. He said the city sometimes must wait weeks for state resources with the necessary cables; in-house capability would speed evidence collection, protect perishable data and integrate with recently acquired virtual reconstruction software used for courtroom presentation.
Committee members asked about lifespan, subscription updates and training; presenters said updates are covered by subscription and training would be scheduled separately. The committee voted to suspend the rules with a favorable report to bring both items to council.
Representative quotes: "It gives us important information five seconds prior to the point of a crash...speed, the RPMs, braking, airbag deployment," Sergeant Carson said of the CDR system.
Clarifying details: The CDR purchase was described at approximately $58,000 with an estimated $1,500 yearly licensing fee; staff said certain proprietary cables (Tesla, Hyundai/Kia examples) are needed and that some cable sets are scarce in-state, causing long turnaround from external providers.