Riverside County supervisors approve $18.2 million increase to sheriff’s body camera contract

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) The Riverside County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 Tuesday to add more than $18.2 million to the sheriff's office contract with Axon Enterprise Inc. for body-worn cameras, nearly tripling the total value of the agreement.

The amendment increases the contract from $11,520,821 to $29,725,728 and exercises all options under the agreement through Aug. 31, 2031, according to the board's agenda. The item allows up to an additional $2,972,572 in compensation and is funded entirely through the sheriff's budget.

Undersheriff Don Sharp told supervisors before the vote the cameras serve both deputies and the public.

"It actually is a transparency and accountability record that the public seems to be very appreciative of," Sharp said.

Sharp also told the board the contract includes translation technology the department is testing but has not yet deployed. He said the feature would give a deputy "the opportunity to have a translation through the device" when speaking with someone in another language.

The item passed as part of the board's regular meeting agenda.