Louisiana weighs a $54M Motorola contract amid no-bid concerns

Louisiana lawmakers are set to consider a $54 million, 10-year no-bid contract with Motorola to provide disaster communications, body-worn and dashboard cameras and other technology used by state law enforcement agencies, Louisiana Illuminator reports.

The Landry administration says the contract could save the state between $40 million and $70 million by locking in discounts on Motorola equipment for the next decade. The proposed integrated system would be used by agencies including the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, Louisiana State Police, the State Fire Marshal, the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the Department of Corrections, Probation and Parole and the Office of Juvenile Justice. 

Motorola already provides some public safety services to the state and helps run the Louisiana Wireless Information Network, a statewide communications system used by first responders during natural disasters.

However, some lawmakers have raised concerns about giving Motorola an exclusive contract without going through a competitive bidding process. They questioned whether other vendors could provide similar technology and warned the state against rushing such an important contract. 

State police officials said they reviewed products from other vendors over a nine-month period before deciding that Motorola’s system was the best option. They said an integrated Motorola system could reduce instances of missing body-camera footage and provide more complete video evidence during incidents. The cameras could also automatically activate based on activity detected by Motorola radios or when nearby officers’ cameras are activated.

Louisiana Illuminator has the full story.