REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
September 21, 2017
FROM: JERRY P. DYER, Chief of Police
Police Department
BY: LYDIA CARRASCO, Deputy Chief
Patrol Division
SUBJECT
Title
Actions pertaining to the extension and expansion of area coverage in a service contract with ShotSpotter, Inc. (“ShotSpotter”):
1. Authorize the Chief of Police or designee to extend and expand the coverage area within the current ShotSpotter contract providing gunshot detection services through the ShotSpotter Flex™ Gunshot Location, Alert, and Analysis Service.
2. Amend the current service contract with ShotSpotter, Inc., to include the amount of $450,000 ($150,000 per year) for ShotSpotter to expand the current coverage and provide an additional continuous three square mile area of coverage for three years.
3. Amend the current service contract with ShotSpotter, Inc., to renew the current coverage area for a maximum of three years at a renewal amount of $150,000 per year.
Body
RECOMMENDATION
The Police Department recommends that Council:
1. Authorize the Chief of Police or designee to renew and expand the current ShotSpotter contract for the lease of gunshot detection services sufficient to provide six continuous square miles of coverage for three years.
2. Approve the first amendment to the current service contract with ShotSpotter for the installation and maintenance of the system.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The ShotSpotter gunshot location system has been used by the Fresno Police Department since going fully operational in July of 2015. It has proven to be a mission-essential tool in our 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 arrests rates, improve officer safety, secure witnesses and evidence, and enhance follow-up investigations. Based on Fresno Police crime data, only 29.79% of gunfire is reported to the department without ShotSpotter. The full deployment of the ShotSpotter system has allowed analysis of gunshot patterns and trends to drive directed patrols and predictive policing. This gunshot location system allows officers to pinpoint the location, often within ten feet of the shot(s) fired. Additional benefits include aiding investigators by providing additional forensic evidence to solve crimes and strengthening the prosecution of court cases, resulting in higher conviction rates for violent crime. ShotSpotter has proven to be a very reliable and effective tool for the Fresno Police Department.
BACKGROUND
On April 8, 2015, Council authorized the Chief of Police to enter into agreement with ShotSpotter to provide gunshot detection services for three years utilizing $450,000 from the CalGRIP grant. ShotSpotter has provided services covering a continuous three square mile area (using 45 - 51 acoustical devices) for the past two and a half years. The current contract will be up for renewal in February of 2018.
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, which are activated when a shot is fired, generating an alert. Each gunfire alert passes through two filters: the acoustical device and validation by trained ShotSpotter personnel at their Incident Review Center (“IRC”) in Newark, CA.
In June of 2016, Fresno Unified School District (FUSD) entered into agreement with ShotSpotter to provide gunshot detection services for three square miles in high crime areas surrounding schools. On August 23, 2017, FUSD approved to fund an increase in their coverage from the existing three square miles to six square miles. The original areas covered are in Southwest Fresno and Southeast Fresno. The approved new coverage area will include Fresno High and ten schools in the surrounding neighborhood. This expansion will be funded solely by FUSD.
Fresno Police Department crime data was analyzed to determine where additional ShotSpotter coverage would be the most effective. A total of three square miles were identified for expansion. The proposed additional coverage expands upon the current areas in Southwest Fresno and Southeast Fresno.
The proposed contract amendment is a three year agreement for ShotSpotter services, during which ShotSpotter owns and services the acoustical devices. The current contract expires in February 2018. This amendment will expand the current Fresno Police Department coverage area from three square miles to six square miles, and will renew the original contract with a coterminous end date for the combined six square miles.
The City of Fresno Department of Transportation has applied to use grant funding from the Prop 1B Transit Security Grant Program to pay for 2.26 square miles of ShotSpotter coverage along the Blackstone Corridor from Olive to Ashlan. A separate contract will be developed and presented to Council once agreed upon.
Discounted pricing for this amendment to the Fresno Police Department funded area is contingent upon the FUSD funded area and the Department of Transportation grant area being approved and funded.
|
ShotSpotter Coverage (Square Miles) |
|
|
|
Current |
Expansion |
Total |
|
Fresno Police Department |
3 |
3 |
6 |
|
Fresno Unified |
3 |
3 |
6 |
|
Transportation Dept./FAX |
0 |
2.26 |
2.26 |
|
Totals |
6 |
8.26 |
14.26 |
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 the Fresno Police Department’s amended contract has been budgeted and approved in the FY 2018 budget. Both FUSD and the Department of Transportation will fund their new coverage areas in separate contracts with Shotspotter.
Attachments: Amendment to Service Agreement