Detroit Lakes Approves Purchase of Body Worn Cameras for Police Department

Detroit Lakes Police Chief Steven Todd addressing the Detroit Lakes City Council, July 12, 2022

DETROIT LAKES (KDLM) – The city of Detroit Lakes approved the purchase of officer worn body cameras for the Detroit Lakes Police Department, Tuesday.

Detroit Lakes Police Chief Steven Todd says the Department will purchase 17 body cameras, one for each full-time officer, which he expects to be implemented by the end of the year as well as dashboard cameras for each of the Department’s marked squad cars.

“They’re really an expected piece of equipment for Police Officers in today’s day and age. A body camera will record and capture an accurate depiction of what happens in the presence of an officer out on the street; that’s valuable for prosecuting cases, it’s valuable for investigating complaints we may have about our staff, but they’re also proven to help people behave better on both sides of the camera. Society is really growing to expect that Police Officers are wearing them,” said Todd to the Detroit Lakes City Council.

The Department had hoped the State legislature would provide assistance for the purchase, however without any bills passed, the city will now be responsible to cover the costs using an already approved $50,000 Police Department Capital Equipment budget. The initial purchase price plus the first year of Cloud Data Storage for the cameras will total $46,562.08. An annual cloud data storage and software licensing and maintenance fee will cost (for years 2 through 5) $12,119.28 each year.