REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
March 26, 2015
FROM: JERRY P. DYER, Chief of Police
Police Department
BY: ROBERT NEVAREZ, Deputy Chief
Police Department - Support & Special Services Division
SUBJECT
Title
Actions pertaining to the award of a sole source service contract to ShotSpotter, Inc. ("ShotSpotter"):
1.Authorize the Chief of Police or designee to specify ShotSpotter, without substitution, to provide gunshot detection services through the ShotSpotter Flex Gunshot Location, Alert, and Analysis Service; and uphold the City Manager's determination that ShotSpotter is uniquely qualified to provide the service
2. Award a service contract in the amount of $450,000 to ShotSpotter, Inc., sufficient for ShotSpotter to provide a continuous three square mile area of coverage for three years.
3.*** RESOLUTION - 43rd Amendment to the Annual Appropriation Resolution (AAR) No. 2014-95 appropriating $109,000 into the Police Department's FY 2015 budget for the CalGRIP grant program (Requires 5 affirmative votes)
Body
RECOMMENDATION
The Police Department recommends that Council:
1. Authorize the Chief of Police or designee to specify ShotSpotter, without substitution, for the lease of gunshot detection services sufficient to provide a three continuous square miles coverage for three years, and uphold the City Manager's determination that ShotSpotter is uniquely qualified to provide the service.
2. Award a service contract for $450,000 to ShotSpotter for the installation and maintenance of the system.
3. Approve an appropriation of $109,000 in CALGRIP funds to be used for first year lease payment of the ShotSpotter system.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Gunshot location systems have been used domestically in the United States since the mid-1990s by a growing list of cities and municipalities that embrace gunshot location systems as a mission-essential tool in their arsenal for fighting violent crime. Gunshot alerts (within seconds of the shots being fired) allow a rapid response to the scene of the gunfire, increase arrest rates, improve officer safety, secure witnesses and evidence, and enhance follow-up investigations. Based on national trends, only 20% of gunfire is reported to authorities via 911. Once installed, this system will increase reporting, allow analysis of gunshot patterns/trends, and will drive directed patrols and intelligence-led policing. Responding officers will be able to pinpoint the location, often within ten feet of the shot(s) fired. The additional forensic evidence will solve crimes and strengthen prosecution, resulting in higher conviction rates for violent crime. The true value of the system is enhanced community and officer safety.
BACKGROUND
On December 18, 2014, Council authorized the Chief of Police to accept $1,500,000 in grant funding from the Board of State and Community Corrections ("BSCC") and execute a grant agreement with BSCC for the 2015 - 2017 CalGRIP grant program. Funding was appropriated for the grant and incorporated in the FY 2015 budget.
The CalGRIP grant is sufficient for ShotSpotter to provide services covering a continuous three square mile area (using 45 - 51 acoustical devices) for three years. Additional acoustical devices are provided as necessary, free of charge, to ensure no neighborhoods within the coverage area are unprotected. ShotSpotter's services include a variety of support mechanisms to ensure the system operates correctly. They currently have contracts with over 80 agencies in the United States and South America.
The ShotSpotter service delivers a digital record; including a recording of the gun shot and a map showing the location of the shot usually within 4-10 ft. (ShotSpotter guarantees a maximum of 80 feet deviation, but actual experiences are generally within 4-10 feet). Voices cannot be recorded by the sensors. The system is activated when a shot is fired, generating an "alert." A minimum of three devices is required to record a shot, triangulate the sound, and send the alert (via cell phone) to the ShotSpotter Incident Review Center ("IRC") for validation.
Each gunfire alert passes through two filters: the acoustical devices recording the event and validation by trained ShotSpotter personnel at their IRC in Newark, CA. The time lapse between the shot fired, the multiple acoustic devices sending the alert to the IRC, validation by the console operator, and forwarding the alert to the subscriber agency is approximately 25 - 45 seconds.
Once the alert is received, FPD dispatch consoles, Real Time Crime Center personnel, and field unit MDTs will receive a "toaster" popup (a small dialog box which pops up from the lower right-hand corner of the screen). The alert contains a Bing map showing the location of the shot(s) fired and a clickable icon to listen to the acoustical record for each device. If multiple shots are fired, the alert will contain a map with the shot locations, and the speed and direction of the vehicle.
The proposed contract is a three year agreement for ShotSpotter services, during which
ShotSpotter owns and services the acoustical devices. The contract includes sending a
ShotSpotter expert to Fresno to provide training. The Police Department will send one officer to Newark for a "train the trainer" course.
The proposed contract has been approved by the City Manager under the sole source competitive bidding exception for service contracts, pursuant Administrative Order 6-19. The City Attorney's Office has approved the contract as to form.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
This is not a "project" for the purpose of CEQA, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines § 15378.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference was not used based on conditions of state and federal funding.
FISCAL IMPACT
Funding for this contract will not impact the City of Fresno's General Fund. The contract with ShotSpotter will be funded through CalGRIP funds, which have already been secured.
Attachments: Service Agreement
Sole Source Memorandum
Resolution amending Annual Appropriation Resolution