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Published on November 06, 2024
Las Cruces City Council Approves Boost in Police Tech Funding, Advances Civic Enhancement ProjectsSource: City of Las Cruces

In a move to bolster accountability and operational efficiency, the Las Cruces City Council recently green-lit an expanded budget for police technology. On Monday, Nov. 4, amidst a regular session of lawmaking and civic discourse, councilors gave the nod to an amendment raising the contract value with Axon Enterprises Inc. by $446,625. This amendment will equip the Las Cruces Police Department (LCPD) with additional body-worn cameras, data storage capacity, and necessary licensing, as cited by the City of Las Cruces.

Increased funding seems to address a crucial need as mandated, the LCPD officers are to record duty-related interactions with civilians using body cameras. Given the immense volume of footage, the buoyed contract, now totaling $2,324,799 and effective until Nov. 15, 2025, supports the storage of such data for at least 120 days. Operating under the contract initiated in November 2020, the LCPD has integrated body-worn cameras into their day-to-day operations since 2014, documents from the same city report delineate.

In addition to the contract amendment for police tech, the council also pushed several consent agenda items through the pipeline, effectively escalating current contracts to meet demands for vehicle servicing and repairs across the board. These increments tally up to a substantial $550,000 for paint and bodywork, $530,000 for light-duty vehicle parts and labor, $490,000 for medium-duty servicing, and a considerable $1,325,000 earmarked for the upkeep of heavy-duty vehicles.

Meanwhile, the aesthetic fabric of Las Cruces is set to receive a face-lift thanks to a new state grant. A $175,000 contribution from the New Mexico Department of Transportation's Que Linda Program will fortify local beautification initiatives. Specifically, it will support the Keep Las Cruces Beautiful campaign, augmenting various efforts like litter removal, school-wide cleanups, community education on litter prevention, and the Adopt-A-Spot program, a detail hailed in the council's session recap.

For those interested in the minutiae of municipal governance or the next procedural steps, the Las Cruces City Council's upcoming work session is scheduled at 1 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 12, in the wake of the Veterans' Day holiday. Proceedings are accessible to the public eye via live stream on the city's official YouTube Channel.