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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 3391 City of Palo Alto (ID # 3391) City Council Staff Report Report Type: Consent Calendar Meeting Date: 1/14/2013 City of Palo Alto Page 1 Summary Title: FY 2013 COPS Grant Title: Approval of the Acceptance and Expenditure of Citizens Options for Public Safety (COPS) Funds on Various Law Enforcement Equipment From: City Manager Lead Department: Police Recommendation Staff recommends that Council approve the acceptance and expenditure of Citizens Options for Public Safety (COPS) funds in the amount of $105,397 and the approval of the expenditure of an additional $87,803 in prior year’s COPS funds for the purchase of Tactical Thermal Binoculars, Replacement Electronic Control Devices (Tasers), Two-way Authentication Equipment, Cell Phone Analyzer Equipment, Crime Prevention Software, Additional Equipment for the Designated Rifle Officer Program, a Crisis Negotiation Team Phone Console, and a Law Enforcement Personnel Training System. Background Since 1997, the California State Budget Act has included allocations to counties and cities for the COPS program. This funding is intended to fill the need for additional resources at the local level to ensure public safety. Under the provisions of Government Code Section 30061, a percentage of the funds are allocated to counties and cities, based upon population, for law enforcement services. Funds must supplement existing services and cannot be used to supplant any existing funds. Each city is also required to deposit the funds into a separate SLESF so that these funds are not intermingled with General Fund dollars. Previous uses of COPS funds have included the purchase of a replacement K-9 unit, crime scene evidence collection vehicle, safety equipment, surveillance equipment, evidence collection equipment, mobile data terminals, youth program activities, upgrades to the telecommunications infrastructure, upgrades to the patrol vehicle and traffic motorcycle programs, an additional sergeant position for the Special Problems Team, and a Captain position and associated training to assist in the City’s homeland security efforts. Last year, City of Palo Alto Page 2 Council approved COPS funding for the purchase of replacement firearms, firearm instructor hearing protection, interview recording system, encrypted jump drives, and property and evidence operational and security improvements. The Police Department has received funds each year under this program since its inception in 1998. Annual allocations have averaged $100,000 over the last few years. Discussion Staff proposes to use COPS funds in the following manner: Tactical Thermal Night Vision Binoculars/Camera: $10,000 Handheld thermal imaging binoculars/cameras are a relatively new and powerful tool in the fight against crime. The thermal binoculars/cameras let law enforcement officers see clearly in total darkness, smoke, dust and fog. Because these systems are thermal, they do not require any ambient light to be effective. These systems can be used for a variety of situations including but not limited to search and rescue operations for missing persons and disasters, searching for dangerous suspects hiding in the darkness, fire incidents and surveillance. Electronic Control Devices Replacement: $75,000 Electronic Control Devices (ECDs), also known as Tasers, have been utilized by the police department since 2007. The Tasers are a critical component for officers in the category of less lethal force options when dealing with a variety of circumstances. The primary reasons for the use of Tasers is to reduce officer and suspect injuries, reduce litigation by injured suspects, and reduce the use of deadly force situations. The Department’s current Tasers has outlived the manufacturer’s warranty. Based on the results of a Department needs assessment and review of current Taser technology, the Department will either replace the current Taser inventory with new units of the model the Department is currently using or upgrade to the newest Taser device. Two-Factor Authentication Equipment: $25,000 Two-Factor authentication provides additional security for authorized users attempting to access sensitive or restricted information. Two-factor authentication will be a requirement for all law enforcement personnel to access DOJ information effective September 1, 2013. There are a number of solutions including security tokens and biometrics that can be used and the Department will work with IT to select the most effective solution. Cellebrite Physical Cell Phone Analyzer: $7,600 City of Palo Alto Page 3 The collection of evidence from mobile phones is becoming increasingly important to criminal investigations. The advent of new mobile device security measures is making it more difficult for detectives to access the data contained in the device. A Cellebrite Physical Analyzer will allow detectives to defeat many of these new security measures, and extract better and more consistent data results. Crime Prevention Software: $20,000 Crime prevention software is at the cutting-edge of law enforcement and will be an important tool in preventing crime during a period of fiscal constraint. Crime prevention software aggregates historical data and uses advanced mathematics and computer learning to generate predictions of where and when future crime may occur. A number of law enforcement agencies have deployed this tool and achieved measurable reductions in crime Additional Equipment for Designated Rifle Officer Program: $25,000 An increasing level of fire power and body armor is being utilized by criminal suspects in hostage situations and terrorism threats. Police officers must be prepared to act decisively to defend innocent lives. The Department currently has authorized the use of tactical rifles by a specialized trained group of officers. These officers must qualify on an annual basis, and attend special training which includes guidelines for deploying the rifle. Staff proposes using $25,000 to purchase additional rifles to expand the program to include all officers. Crisis Negotiation Team Phone Console: $20,000 Communicating with and monitoring a hostage-taker or other barricaded subject is a critical component of crisis negotiation and resolution. A real-time audio and video feed aids in intelligence gathering by the department’s hostage negotiation team, thereby increasing the probability of peacefully resolving a crisis through negotiation. It also provides crucial tactical information for the department’s SWAT team. The Department’s existing two-way crisis communication system does not meet current video or audio recording standards. It does not have wireless capability; making deployment more difficult, it records audio only via audio- cassette, and it has no internal mechanism for recording video. Newer systems meet all of the criteria required for effective recording, playback, archiving and duplication while maintaining data integrity. The proposed system would be wireless and would work in conjunction with computer software that records and manages the data. Staff proposes using $20,000 replace the existing two-way crisis communication system. Law Enforcement Automated Personnel System: $10,000 Currently, the Field Training Officer (FTO) Program of the Police Department functions using hard copy personnel records for all aspects related to the documentation of an officer’s training City of Palo Alto Page 4 performance. For each new police officer, the FTO is responsible for completing roughly 72 Daily Observation Reports (DORs), nine bi-weekly performance evaluations and one final evaluation. Staff would like to purchase software which manages all personnel and training files for the FTO program. This is specifically designed and customized software, based on the California Peace Officers Standards in Training (POST) Field Training guidelines. The purpose is to avoid the possibility of lost documents, maintain restricted access, reduce waste and ensure a speedy review of all DORs. This software allows electronic completion, review and approval of all documents. An electronic personnel file would be accessible at any time, by any member of the department, who has permission to view it. Built in notifications can be set-up to remind FTOs and alert FTO administrators if forms are not completed or submitted within specified time frames. RESOURCE IMPACT A total of $192,600 of expenditures are anticipated, all of which will be covered by grant funding, and remaining balances in the Supplemental Law Enforcement Service Fund (SLESF). There will be no impact to the General Fund or the Budget Stabilization Reserve. The City received the official notice from the California Department of Finance in September 2012 that the City’s COPS allocation for Fiscal Year 2013 is $105,397. Revenues and expenses of $105,397 will be budgeted in the City’s SLESF as part of the mid-year budget report. The remaining $87,203 in expenditures will be funded by existing accumulated interest and residual funds from prior years already in the SLESF. There is sufficient funding in the SLESF to cover these expenditures. At the close of FY2012 the SLESF had a balance of $248,852, and with recent activity in FY13 the estimated fund balance as of December 17, 2012 is $240,577. POLICY IMPLICATIONS Expenditures of funds associated with COPS funds are consistent with City Policy. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT Acceptance of COPS funding and the proposed expenditures for public safety equipment are not projects subject to CEQA requirements.