REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
March 31, 2016
FROM: JERRY P. DYER, Chief of Police
Police Department
BY: PATRICK FARMER, Deputy Chief
Patrol Division
SUBJECT
Title
Award a sole source contract for predictive policing software to PredPol, Inc. (“PredPol”), for a term of one year in the amount of $80,000, with options for two one-year extensions.
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that Council authorize the Chief of Police to enter into and execute a purchase agreement with PredPol, Inc., for predictive policing software and support services for one year for $80,000, with options for two one-year extensions at $86,000. Funding for this purchase and associated subscription costs will come from the current Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) grant.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
PredPol is patented crime prediction software that generates predictions about which areas and windows of time are at highest risk for future crimes. This includes property crimes, traffic accidents, drug incidents, gang activity, and violent crimes. PredPol integrates with the City’s RMS crime data systems and updates automatically as an agency updates its records. PredPol has proven to be an effective resource for suppression and reduction of crime in cities across the US and abroad. Regionally, PredPol is being used with success by the Los Angeles Police Department, Burbank Police Department and Modesto Police Department. In contrast to hotspot analysis that simply maps past crime data, PredPol’s first-of-its-kind technology applies advanced mathematics and computer learning that predicts twice as many crimes as those made by current best practices like heat-mapping. Predictions are recalibrated daily for each shift, translated onto a map as distinctive red boxes and immediately available to personnel working in the field. PredPol includes CrimeWhere, which is a public-facing product that displays crime data in a simple map format using Google Maps.
BACKGROUND
In recent years, predictive policing computer programs have been implemented in law enforcement agencies around the United States and internationally, with success. Complex computer algorithms are used to sort through crime records to assist with the effective deployment of police resources, and reduce or prevent crime. In January 2014, the Fresno Police Department entered into a one year contract with Public Engines. Public Engines offered crime analysis tools, a predictive policing application and a public facing crime mapping system known as crimereports.com. The Department entered into this contract as part of a group, with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Department and eleven other police departments within Fresno County. As a result of the group contract, Public Engines was able to offer a significant discount. The contract was renewed in January 2015, for one more year and is set to expire in January 2016. During the contract period, some of the law enforcement agencies used only a portion of the services offered by Public Engines, and other agencies found the full spectrum of services to be useful for their particular department. The public facing application from Public Engines was the largest benefit through the contract, however the predictive policing application from Public Engines was less beneficial to the Fresno Police Department, and not ideal for widespread implementation throughout the Department.
Compared to Public Engines, the array of applications offered by PredPol, and the user friendly design of the predictive policing application, offers increased effectiveness and the ease of use throughout the Department.
PredPol offers proprietary features that the Department cannot find in other software. PredPol extracts the crime type, crime location and crime time from the Department’s Records Management System (RMS) data base. PredPol applies advanced mathematics and computer learning to make crime predictions. Predictions are translated onto a map as distinctive red boxes representing an area of 500 feet by 500 feet. Maps can be broken down into divisions, districts or beats. Predictions are recalibrated daily for each patrol shift and reports are delivered to any internet-connected device, viewed on an MDT (Mobile Data Terminal), or printed on paper. This system is designed to complement the judgment of officers and crime analysts to problem solve while “in and around-the-box.” It does not replace, but requires, the insights of veteran officers and crime analysts to be effective. The information provided by PredPol enables law enforcement to enhance and better direct patrol resources.
PredPol provides AVL-based, real-time dosage reporting for patrol using their predictive services. PredPol uses GPS based usage metrics to provide reports to the Department. Reports are accessible from the web-based interface by command staff and patrol supervisors (filtered by user permissions) and provide instant feedback on which zones are being under-patrolled, patrolled sufficiently, or over-patrolled to prevent crime.
PredPol includes CrimeWhere, which is a public-facing product that displays crime data in a simple map format using Google Maps. Data to create the map is obtained from RMS or publicly available sources. CrimeWhere is accessible to the public from any mobile device via a web browser and no additional software is needed. Members of the public will have the ability to map historical crime data up to one year in the past. CrimeWhere also provides users the ability to set up crime notifications, which can be customized and delivered to an email address or via text to a mobile phone.
The proposed contract with PredPol includes the setup and integration of a secure Data Pipe from the Police Department’s Records Management System to the PredPol service. The contract also includes full access to these services with unlimited users for the Police Department, and a train the trainer session in operations and best practices.
The Purchasing Department has confirmed the sole source for this software is PredPol and the City Attorney’s Office has reviewed as to form the agreement.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
This is not a “project” for the purposes of CEQA, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local Preference was not considered because State funding is used for award of this Agreement.
FISCAL IMPACT
Funding for this program will not impact the City’s General Fund. Funding for this project currently exists in the Board of State and Community Corrections Grant and was approved as part of the FY 2016 budget. Sole source justification and preliminary terms have been approved by Purchasing.
Attachment:
Agreement with PredPol