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Elkhart City Board approves Axon software contract, adopts revised police policy manual and enrolls in CALEA program
Summary
The Elkhart City Board of Public Safety on April 14 authorized up to $65,000 for an Axon standards software agreement, approved a roughly 595‑page police policy manual and approved enrollment and subscription agreements to pursue accreditation through CALEA; officials said some subscription costs were not specified during the meeting.
The Elkhart City Board of Public Safety on April 14 approved a package of police department items that includes authorization for an Axon standards software agreement, adoption of a revised police policy manual and enrollment in an external accreditation program.
Assistant Chief Andy Whitmire told the board the department has been managing multiple records platforms and that the Axon standards software would centralize incident, pursuit and use‑of‑force records into one system to improve efficiency and make later record retrieval easier. "We created a a cumbersome process at best where to do a simple use of force report or pursuit report generate a complaint we have four screens open with four different softwares running," Whitmire said, explaining the rationale for consolidation.
The board authorized up to $65,000 for the Axon standards request and granted permission for Captain Travis Snider to sign the contract documents on behalf of the city, with legal review already completed. Whitmire said the change is intended to both simplify officers' reporting and make records easier to manage for supervisors and for public records requests.
Board members also discussed a revised police policy manual presented at the meeting. The manual was described in the meeting as roughly 595 pages with attachments; some members suggested tabling the item for additional review given the document's length, but the board ultimately approved the manual as presented.
Separately, the board voted to approve enrollment, a publication/subscription access addendum and participation in a law‑enforcement accreditation program identified in the transcript with variable spellings. The department identified the program as CALEA (Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies) as the intended accreditation body; officials said the program helps keep policy language up to date and requires periodic updates. A specific subscription or enrollment dollar figure was discussed as existing but was not provided during the meeting and is therefore not specified in this report.
What happens next: Staff will complete contract paperwork for Axon with the signed authorization, implement the policy manual as approved, and proceed with the accreditation enrollment steps; the board did not set a public timeline for full accreditation during the meeting.
Provenance: Topic introduced SEG 116; topic discussion and approval concluded SEG 178. Policy manual discussion and approval introduced SEG 179; concluded SEG 259. CALEA/enrollment discussion introduced SEG 280; concluded SEG 333.
