SALISBURY -- Correctional officers at the Wicomico County
Detention Center will see inmates through new eyes after the County
Council approved funding for 120 new surveillance cameras this week.
The same system will likely be expanded to other county-operated
facilities such as the government building on Division Street and
Wicomico Youth & Civic Center, an official said.
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After several rounds of
presentations, The Avrio Group was awarded a $63,210 contract to
provide the new digital hardware and software, said Ray Micciche,
county information technology director. The more-than-600 inmate
detention center currently operates a videotape system officials
said is antiquated and too costly to run.
Avrio's bid, however, was almost ignored because another quote
came in about $15,000 less.
Council members couldn't decide if this lower bid provided the
quality recording needed by the facility, so they instructed law
enforcement officials and other department heads to see
presentations by competing firms.
The support for Avrio was overwhelming.
"There is far more power behind it," Micciche said. "When we
looked at the line items, we saw Avrio's having more rich features
that we can take advantage of in how it records and how (video) is
retrieved."
Micciche added that while the system might cost more in the
short-term, expansion of this system will be much cheaper.
Not only can maintenance and system upgrades be done by current
county personnel, but once the county purchases this single license,
it can use it at any of its buildings, he said. With the other firm,
a maintenance contract was required and cameras at each new facility
would required its own license.
"This being the digital age, it's time we get into digital
recording and that is a significant upgrade to the system we have,"
said Douglas Devenyns, detention center director.
Installation of the new system is expected to begin immediately,
and the transition is not expected to cause any downtime, he said.
While no plans to add a surveillance system at the county's
government building or Civic Center are complete, Micciche said the
idea has been discussed.
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