Title
Recommendation to Authorize the Interim City Manager to Negotiate and Execute a Five Year Agreement with Taser International for the Acquisition, Support and Maintenance of 80 Body Worn Digital Video Cameras and a Digital Evidence Management System and Appropriate $424,752.61 from the Police Departments' Fiscal Year (FY) 2014-15 Budget to Finance the Acquisition. (Police 3121)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Elizabeth D. Warmerdam, Interim City Manager
Re: Authorize the Interim City Manager to Negotiate and Execute a Five Year Agreement with Taser International for the Acquisition, Support and Maintenance of 80 Body Worn Digital Video Cameras and a Digital Evidence Management System and appropriate $424,752.61 from the Police Departments' FY 14-15 Budget to Finance the Acquisition.
BACKGROUND
Since 2006, the Police Department has utilized digital audio recorders (DARs) to record all contact with the public. In subsequent years, technology has been developed to allow for video recording from the dash of a patrol car. More recently, the technology has expanded to wearable video body cameras. Due to incidents garnering national attention in Ferguson, Missouri, New York City, and South Carolina, a national conversation has developed that advocates for all law enforcement officers to be equipped with body worn cameras.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) has also become a strong proponent of Personal Video Recorders or "body cameras". In 2012, the Alameda Police Department began to conduct research into body camera systems. It was determined that one of the most practical systems was developed by Taser International under the name of AXON Flex. On July 25, 2012, the Police Department entered into a temporary agreement with Taser to test their Flex body camera. Since that date, a number of other body systems have been tested to compare factors including equipment maintenance, equipment reliability, user friendliness, media storage, logistics of maintenance, and security.
DISCUSSION
Over the past several years, police departments across the country have been deploying body camera systems to increase public trust and add a layer of transparency to their operations. In the Bay Area, several departments have tested and/or purchased body camera systems from a variety of vendors. Each area agency that staff contacted reported both positive and negative comments about the vendors they chose. During the approximately three year testing period, the Police Department evaluated several different camera systems from various manufacturers. These vendors included VieVu, FirstVue, Safety Vision, Digital Ally Incorporated, and Taser International Incorporated. During the evaluation period, a temporary use policy was developed and implemented.
Within a few months, staff began to see the benefits of having video evidence. Officers wearing the cameras found that persons contacted were more compliant and criminal cases with video evidence were resolved without going to trial. Officers wearing the body camera systems did not receive any personnel complaints from residents. Outside studies suggest that the use of body cameras by police statistically reduces the number of complaints, use of force incidents, and frivolous lawsuits against cities. An additional benefit appears to be a significant reduction in court overtime costs, as officers wearing cameras were not subpoenaed as often as officers who did not wear them.
After a thorough evaluation of each product, the Taser AXON Flex body camera was identified as the best option for our department. Taser is a camera which can be uniquely worn in multiple locations on the officer due to its smaller size. The other vendors offer a simplistic "clip-on" style case which, due to its fixed angle, can be inadvertently aimed in the wrong direction or obstructed if worn on the chest, as it is commonly recommended. Also, the lenses of these competitor cameras are not as wide, nor as effective in low light settings. The Taser Axon FLEX body camera is the only body worn camera system in use today which can be worn on the head of the officer to give a first person perspective of a video capture. Although not unique to Taser, the Axon FLEX body camera is always recording and will save the thirty seconds of video that is captured prior to the officer formally activating the camera.
A significant feature of the Taser body camera system is their proprietary EVIDENCE.com media storage support. Taser offers a military-grade security, cloud based storage system that is accessed by a web based program. This type of support offers the Police Department a simple and effective management tool to download, securely store, easily categorize, and manage the media. It will allow us to effectively distribute evidentiary copies for prosecution purposes. Lastly, it will make the auditing process of media much easier for all authorized users.
Because Taser manages the storage and security of the media, the City's Information Technology (IT) department will not be required to spend thousands of dollars in additional server storage, maintenance, and ongoing backup/security measures. No other vendor offers this type of support, convenience, or security. Other vendors that were tested require their body camera users to manually connect the device to a computer, which would require the City's IT department to manage the aforementioned issues.
Based on the comprehensive evaluation of multiple body camera systems; the recommendations of the International Association of Chiefs of Police;, the unique expertise of Taser International; and extensive field testing, the procurement of the TASER Axon Flex video camera, via a sole source approval, will be in the best interest of the City of Alameda, the Alameda Police Department, and our community. (see Exhibit 1, Sole Source Justification).
The permanent policy governing the use and retention of the body camera media will be created utilizing best practice recommendations by IACP and the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF). PERF is a national membership organization of police executives primarily from the largest city, county, and state law enforcement agencies in the United States which includes the United States Department of Justice. Both of these organizations analyze nationwide incidents and come up with recommendations and "best practice" guidance when it comes to agency policy development. A policy governing use, retention, storage, and access of the media will be drafted with the cooperation of the Alameda Police Officers Association and the City Attorney's Office so that a usable, conscientious, and responsible policy can be implemented.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The total purchase price for this five year contract is $424,753. The Police Department will finance this purchase through TASER at zero percent interest for five years.
The first year's disbursement of 173,329 will complete the acquisition of 80 cameras and will also encompass the annual fees for storing the Body-Camera data.
An annual fee of 62,856 for media storage will be disbursed in each of the subsequent four years of the Agreement. The total cost of this purchase by year is illustrated in the table below:
Year 1 |
$173,329 |
Equipment and media storage (tax and shipping included) |
Year 2 |
62,856 |
Media storage |
Year 3 |
62,856 |
Media storage |
Year 4 |
62,856 |
Media storage |
Year 5 |
62,856 |
Media storage |
Total |
$424,753 |
Equipment and media storage |
The project will be funded with a combination of State COPs grant and departmental savings in the General Fund. Grant funding will cover the acquisition of the equipment of $110,473 in the first year. The remaining funds necessary to cover the entire cost of this purchase will be disbursed by transferring $314,280 in FY 14-15 departmental savings from the General Fund to the Equipment Replacement Fund. Although the full amount is available to cover the cost of the project, the City will be disbursing the payments to the vendor annually for the next five years as there is zero financing cost to the City.
On May 1, 2015, The U.S. Department of Justice (USDOJ) and Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) announced a competitive grant process to provide matching grants to agencies initiating a body worn camera program.
The Police Department would be eligible to apply for the BJA grant under Category 3 (agencies with less than 250 sworn officers). In that category, the maximum grant award to any agency is $250,000 and requires a 50% local funding match. However, BJA anticipates only 16 Category 3 awards will be made for the entire country. Additionally, BJA requires program elements that will take some time to develop and the City would only have until June 16, 2015, to complete the work and apply. Staff's opinion is that it is not in the best interests of the city or Police Department to delay the purchase of the cameras to apply for a grant that we will be statistically unlikely to receive.
Also, because the Police Department has assisted with testing and been evaluating the AXON Flex product, Taser is offering the City a discount using 2014 pricing for this quote only.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
This action is authorized pursuant to Alameda Administrative Rule 5, and Alameda Municipal Code Section 2-62.5, which exempts contracts with any single or source supplier for supplies, material or equipment from the City's local purchasing policy.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This action is not a project for the purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under CEQA Guidelines section 10561(b)(3) as there is no possibility that this action may have a significant effect on the environment.
RECOMMENDATION
Authorize the Interim City Manager to Negotiate and Execute a Five Year Agreement with Taser International for the Acquisition, Support and Maintenance of 80 Body Worn Digital Video Cameras and a Digital Evidence Management System and Appropriate $424,752.61 from the Police Departments' FY 14-15 Budget to Finance the Acquisition
Respectfully submitted,
Paul J. Rolleri, Chief of Police
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Elena Adair, Finance Director
Exhibits:
1. Sole Source Justification
2. Taser Purchase Order and Service Agreement