REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
February 15, 2018
FROM: JIM SCHAAD, Director
Department of Transportation
BY: DARLENE CHRISTIANSEN, Sr. Management Analyst
Department of Transportation/Administration Division
SUBJECT
Title
Approve the Second Amendment to the City’s service contract with ShotSpotter, Inc., to expand ShotSpotter Flex coverage by 2.26 square miles for three years, for the amount of $440,700
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends Council approve the Second Amendment to the City’s service contract with ShotSpotter, Inc., to expand ShotSpotter Flex coverage by 2.26 square miles for three years, for the amount of $440,700, and authorize the Director of Transportation or designee to execute the Second Amendment.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The ShotSpotter gunshot location system has been used by the Fresno Police Department since July 2015. It has proven to be a mission-essential tool 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 percent 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. The proposed amendment provides for 2.26 square miles of additional ShotSpotter coverage, to be paid for by the Department of Transportation, with an emphasis on the soon-to-be-running Bus Rapid Transit system operational area.
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 contract was amended on August 28, 2017, to include an additional three miles of coverage and was extended to 2021.
In June 2016, the 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 its coverage to six square miles. The areas covered are in Southwest Fresno, Southeast Fresno, Fresno High, and ten schools in the surrounding neighborhood.
The proposed contract amendment is a three-year agreement for ShotSpotter services, during which ShotSpotter owns and services the acoustical devices. This amendment will expand provide for an additional 2.26 square miles of coverage for a portion of the Department of Transportation BRT corridor on Blackstone Avenue from Olive to Ashlan. This new coverage will be funded by a Proposition 1B Transit Security Grant for the first three years.
|
ShotSpotter Coverage (Square Miles) |
|
|
Current |
Expansion |
Total |
|
Fresno Police Department |
6 |
0 |
6 |
|
Fresno Unified |
6 |
0 |
6 |
|
Transportation Dept./FAX |
0 |
2.26 |
2.26 |
|
Totals |
12 |
2.26 |
14.26 |
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDING
This is not a “project” for the purpose of CEQA, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines § 15378.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference was not applied as this is an amendment to an existing agreement.
FISCAL IMPACT
Funding for the Department of Transportation contract has been budgeted and approved in the FY 2018 Department budget.
Attachment:
Second Amendment to Service Agreement