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Redmond police cite Axon body‑camera rollout and May 15 photo‑radar launch as efficiency measures
Summary
Police Chief Devin Lewis told the budget committee that new Axon body cameras and an evidence storage plan are expected to speed evidence processing; the department also plans a photo‑radar enforcement program to go live May 15 with a 30‑day warning period.
Chief Devin Lewis told the Redmond Budget Committee the police department is implementing new Axon body cameras and other technology that staff expect will speed evidence processing, reduce redaction time and improve operational efficiency.
"Under the old system ... you'd have to come back to the PD, dock the camera. There would be a pretty long upload time. Sometimes it could take several hours," Lewis said. He said the Axon system uploads "within a few seconds" and that staff redaction time that once took days can now often be completed "within, you know, 15 to 45 minutes."
Lewis outlined several related items in the police fund presentation: completion of staffing for community service officers, plans to convert the Redmond Proficiency Academy SRO to full time, a proposed evidence storage facility (expected this summer) to consolidate vehicles and other evidence now housed across Central Oregon, and a regular vehicle-rotation plan to maintain patrol and administrative fleet reliability.
Traffic enforcement: Chief Lewis said Redmond will launch a photo‑radar program on May 15. The first 30 days will be warnings, and the program will include fixed cameras (including an intersection camera at 6th and Maple covering all directions) and a mobile unit initially sited at Southwest Courts. Lewis said the program's intent is safety, not revenue: "This isn't some sort of gotcha program. This is all about educating the public."
Budget implications and questions: Committee members asked whether the increased rentals/leases line reflected camera leasing costs (staff confirmed it does), about projected court-fine revenue tied to photo enforcement (tied to the program assumptions), and about maintenance and utility costs at the new police facility. Lewis and Jason Neff, deputy city manager/CFO, said some numbers are conservative estimates because the program's revenue and costs will be clearer after initial operation.
Next steps: The committee will continue to question department line items in future sessions; staff said they will return updated projections once the photo‑radar program has operated through the initial warning phase.
