Generic Meridian Police Department

Meridian Police Department is asking the City Council for funding to upgrade the police station’s security system and install modern surveillance cameras.

In a work session Tuesday, Assistant Chief Patrick Gale said MPD is requesting $200,000 to fund the security upgrades. The modernized system will tie in to the police department’s efforts to create a real time crime center, he said, as well as provide additional security for officers and citizens in and around the building.

“It’s all part of the RTCC,” he said.

The department’s current system uses analog cameras, which have poor resolution and are obsolete. The new system, according to MPD, will include upgraded cameras, secure door access, remote lockdown features and artificial intelligence.

The push for an upgraded security system comes after a police officer was shot at Meridian Police Department on Feb. 1 when a suspect being brought to court got ahold of the officer’s gun. Both the officer and the suspect were treated for gunshot wounds that were not considered life threatening.

The security system is a separate project from the citywide camera network the police department is currently working to install, but the two systems will work together.

City Chief Financial Officer Brandye Latimer told council members the project was included in MPD’s 2024 fiscal year budget, but a council order transferring funds from city departments to the council-controlled legislative account removed the money from the police department’s control. Gale said he is requesting the council give the money back.

Councilman Joe Norwood Jr., who serves as president of the City Council, said MPD has more than 30 vacancies. The funds set aside to pay salaries for those empty positions from the start of the fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, to now should be more than enough to cover the bill, he said.

Before moving forward, Norwood said, the council needs more information about the funds MPD already has available and why additional money is needed.

Councilwoman Romande Walker said one of the first questions the council asks when presented with a funding request is how much a department already has in its budget. Having that information ahead of time helps the council know what resources are available and make a decision sooner.

Gale said he submitted a request to the city’s Human Resources department last week asking for a tally of the unused salary funds but has not yet received a response. The request, however, was made as part an effort to address MPD’s shortage of useable vehicles, he said, and not to purchase cameras.

“MPD also needs vehicles desperately,” he said.

Councilman George Thomas said Tuesday’s discussion was the first time he had been told MPD needed a new security system at the station and asked for the council to be provided with information about what the department is planning to do. It is difficult to support a project without knowing what the project is, he said.

“You all are coming to us asking for things we know nothing about,” he said.

The police department’s request was presented to the council roughly 10 minutes prior to the start of its regularly scheduled meeting on Feb. 20, Norwood said, but he declined to immediately add it to the agenda as council members had not had an opportunity to understand what was being purchased and why.

Mayor Jimmie Smith said his staff would work on getting the council the information they need to make a decision. Although there are differences of opinion between the council and city administration, he said he hoped both sides can work together to get Meridian’s police officers the tools they need to protect the community.

“I think what is more important is we need to be proactive getting the police department what they need,” he said.