What to Do in the 90 Days Before Your Body Camera Contract Expires

Most chiefs don't think about their body camera contract until it's almost too late.

The renewal notice shows up. The vendor calls. Suddenly there's pressure to sign quickly, and the evaluation that should have started three months ago hasn't started at all. Departments end up renewing out of convenience rather than choice, or scrambling to evaluate alternatives without enough time to do it properly.

Ninety days is enough time to do this right. But only if you use them.

Here's what that window should look like, whether you're planning to stay with your current vendor or seriously considering a switch.

Month One: Know What You Have

Before you can evaluate anything, you need an honest picture of where things stand. Most departments don't have this picture as clearly as they think.

Pull Your Footage Retention Policy and Check Compliance

Your contract specifies how long footage is retained and under what conditions. Pull that document and compare it against what's actually in your system. Are clips being retained for the required period? Are there gaps in footage from specific dates or officers? Are deletion logs clean?

This matters for two reasons. First, if there are compliance issues, you want to find them before a defense attorney or a public records request does. Second, if you're considering switching vendors, you need to know exactly how much footage is in the system and whether your retention obligations extend beyond the contract term.

Get a Complete Count of Your Evidence

How many videos are currently stored in your system? How many gigabytes or terabytes? If you don't know these numbers, ask your vendor for them in writing. This information is yours, and any vendor should provide it without pushback.

This becomes the basis for your transition planning, whether you're staying or going.

Document What's Working and What Isn't

Talk to your officers and administrators. Where does the system slow them down? What takes longer than it should? Where does footage get lost, delayed, or inaccessible? What complaints have come up repeatedly?

Write it down. This list is your evaluation criteria for any new vendor, and it's your leverage in renewal negotiations with your current one.

Month Two: Evaluate Your Options Honestly

With a clear picture of your current situation, month two is about making an informed decision rather than a reactive one.

Ask Your Current Vendor the Hard Questions

Before you look anywhere else, give your current vendor the opportunity to address what isn't working. Put your concerns in writing and ask for written responses. Specifically:

What will the pricing look like for the next contract term, including any increases? What has changed in the product since you signed? What is their roadmap for the next three to five years? If there have been service issues, what has changed to prevent them from recurring?

Their responses, and how quickly and directly they give them, will tell you a lot about what the next contract term will look like.

Understand Your Data Portability Rights

This is the question most departments skip and later regret. Before you can seriously consider switching vendors, you need to understand your data portability rights, including what it costs and how long it takes to get your footage out of the current system.

Ask your vendor specifically: what format will footage be exported in? How long will the export process take for your full evidence library? Is there a fee? Who manages the process, you or them?

Get the answers in writing. If the vendor is slow to answer or the answers are complicated, that's important information about the relationship you're in.

Talk to Other Chiefs

The best information about any body camera vendor doesn't come from a sales presentation. It comes from other chiefs who have used the system for two or three years. Call departments you know. Ask what their experience has been beyond year one, when the honeymoon period ends and the day-to-day reality sets in.

Ask specifically about support response when something goes wrong, billing surprises, and whether the vendor delivered on what was promised during the sales process.

Month Three: Make the Decision and Execute It

By month three you should have everything you need to make a confident decision. This is execution time.

If You're Renewing

Review the new contract carefully against your old one before you sign. Look for changes in storage terms, support language, and data portability clauses. If something changed and no one mentioned it, ask why.

Make sure any service commitments are in writing, and that pricing is clearly laid out for the full contract term with no ambiguity around what's included.

If You're Switching

Start the transition planning immediately. A smooth switch requires coordination between your outgoing and incoming vendors, and the more lead time you have, the better the outcome.

The most important steps: confirm your footage export timeline with your current vendor and get it started early. Confirm with your new vendor exactly when your new body camera system will be live and who is responsible for each step of the setup. Identify which officers need training and build that into the schedule before the old system goes dark.

Don't let the transition timeline slip. Departments that start this process in month three have smooth transitions. Departments that start it in the final two weeks don't.

Brief Your Team

Whoever signs the contract is rarely the only person affected by it. Officers, evidence technicians, administrators, and the staff who interact with the system daily deserve to know what's coming and when. A brief, straightforward update before the transition happens prevents confusion and builds trust.

The Bigger Picture

A body camera contract is one of the more significant technology commitments a department makes. The system touches evidence integrity, officer accountability, budget planning, and daily workflow. It deserves the same deliberate process you'd apply to any other major department decision.

Ninety days is enough time to make that decision well. The departments that use that window come out of the renewal process with a system that genuinely works for them, a price that reflects their negotiating position, and confidence that they made the right call.

The departments that don't use it end up signing whatever lands in front of them.

Approaching a contract renewal and want a straight conversation about your options? Call 866-536-7562 or contact LensLock.