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RESOLUTION NO. 2014-201 OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA WAIVING THE COMPETITIVE FORMAL BID PROCEDURE AND APPROVING AN AGREEMENT ("TASER QUOTATION") BETWEEN THE CITY AND TASER INTERNATIONAL FOR THE PURCHASE OF BODY-WORN CAMERAS, EVIDENCE STORAGE, AND RELATED PRODUCT SUPPORT SERVICES
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RECOMMENDED ACTION
Recommended Action
Council adopt the resolution.
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SUMMARY
The Police Department has extensively researched and tested Body Worn Cameras (BWCs) since 2010. The Police Department is recommending to contract with Taser International, Inc. to provide equipment and cloud-based storage of digital video evidence as part of a comprehensive BWC program.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This proposed activity has been reviewed for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and it has been determined that the activity is not a "Project" as defined under Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines because it will not result in a physical change in the environment; therefore, pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines, the activity is not subject to CEQA. Thus, no environmental review is necessary.
BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION
Not Applicable.
DISCUSSION
The use of police body worn cameras has been a growing national trend due to recent high profile events. The cameras, not only will protect people who make legitimate complaints, but this new technology also should protect police from false allegations of excessive force. Since 2010, the Police Department has extensively researched and tested body worn cameras (BWCs). The Police Department recommends to select Taser International as the provider for body worn cameras and cloud-based storage of videos via Evidence.com.
Taser International is an industry leader with regard to ruggedized BWCs which are specifically designed for police use and Police Department staff has extensively tested its equipment since 2010. During that time, Police Department staff has also evaluated several other BWC providers, including BWCs from the following manufacturers: VieVu, Wolfcom, Stalker, and Martel Electronics. While a number of manufacturers have entered the BWC market in the last few years, Taser International is by far the industry leader with regard to high quality recording equipment, ease of evidence handling and the secure cloud-based storage of digital evidence.
Police Department staff bases its recommendation on the fact that Taser International is the only vendor who offers all of the following services as part its proposed five-year contract:
· Taser International offers two models of ruggedized BWCs (chest mounted and head mounted).
· Taser International offers no cost equipment upgrades of all cameras and docking stations every two and a half years based upon the proposed contract.
· Taser International offers a full warranty on all cameras and docking stations based upon the five year contract.
· Taser International's BWCs offer instant video review by officers via Bluetooth over a smart phone device which is useful for report writing and complaint resolution. Officers cannot edit, delete or tamper with videos in any manner.
· Taser International offers a proprietary tamper-proof design by which videos can only be uploaded via a docking station or computer to cloud based servers. There are no data cards to be removed, damaged or lost and no cables to plug into a computer.
· Taser International's BWCs are designed to be used in conjunction with multi-port docking stations which offer ease of use for uploading videos and recharging equipment. Other manufacturers require the use of individual cables and computers for saving data which is burdensome to officers. With Taser International's BWCs, officers simply plug the device into the docking station and it automatically uploads all videos to cloud-based servers as the device is charged.
· Taser International offers Internet-based storage of videos via Evidence.com for data management and storage. This eliminates the need for expensive and complex video storage servers which must be maintained by the City's ITS department.
· Evidence.com includes several layers of security which meet federal government cloud security standards and provides audit information and chain of custody details about video evidence.
· Video evidence can be managed via the Evidence.com database and videos can be saved or deleted according to retention schedules based upon established Police Department policy.
· Taser International has offered the Police Department a 25% discount on BWCs and a 20% discount on Ultimate Evidence.com licensing (data storage and management) as part of this contract. These are the same discounts that the San Diego Police Department negotiated with Taser International in their recent sole source contract for BWCs and storage services.
Taser International has been an industry leader of police self defense equipment since 1993 and began incorporating cameras onto its electronic weapons in 2006. In 2009, Taser developed the Axon BWC system and Evidence.com and began refining its product line for police duty well before any other traditional police camera manufacturers.
Taser International was the first company to recognize cloud storage as being the most secure and economical method of storing digital evidence and focused its resources on developing Evidence.com. No other manufacturer offers a combination of high quality equipment paired with an evidence storage solution on par with Evidence.com, which offers ease of video uploading, secure data storage and ease of data management. Finally, the Police Department has been a client of Taser International for over fourteen years with regard to its other products and the company's record of customer service and high quality equipment has been excellent.
Taser International has been adopted as the BWC provider for numerous police agencies including San Diego P.D., Miami Beach P.D., Hayward P.D, Ontario P.D., Anaheim P.D., Fullerton P.D. and many others. Taser International BWCs are currently being evaluated by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, the Los Angeles Police Department and the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department, in addition to many other smaller agencies.
The Police Department is requesting to waive the competitive formal bid requirement and authorization to enter into a five-year contract with Taser International beginning on December 1, 2014 to include the purchase of 114 BWCs, requisite docking stations and the data storage and data management services of Evidence.com.
The total five-year contract is $501,294, including all equipment, warranties, data storage and management costs. In the current fiscal year the total cost is $155,405, which includes the one-time purchase of BWCs and equipment as well as data storage. The first year's startup cost will be "kick started" by $25,000 in private funds raised by the Chula Vista Police Foundation for the specific purpose of starting a police BWC program in Chula Vista. Police Department staff is proud of the public/private partnership that these donations represent and is grateful to our community partners who have committed to this important public safety initiative.
The cost breakdown of the five-year contract is as follows:
|
FY 14/15 |
FY 15/16 |
FY 16/17 |
FY 17/18 |
FY 18/19 |
5-YEAR TOTAL |
Equipment |
$77,395 |
|
|
|
|
$77,395 |
Service & Storage Costs |
$78,010 |
$92,210 |
$84,560 |
$84,560 |
$84,560 |
$423,898 |
Total Costs |
$155,405 |
$92,210 |
$84,560 |
$84,560 |
$84,560 |
$501,294 |
DECISION-MAKER CONFLICT
Staff has reviewed the decision contemplated by this action and has determined that it is not site specific and consequently the 500-foot rule found in California Code of Regulations section 18704.2(a)(1) is not applicable to this decision. Staff is not independently aware, nor has staff been informed by any City Councilmember, of any other fact that may constitute a basis for a decision maker conflict of interest in this matter.
LINK TO STRATEGIC GOALS
The City's Strategic Plan has five major goals: Operational Excellence, Economic Vitality, Healthy Community, Strong and Secure Neighborhoods and a Connected Community. This resolution supports the goal of Strong and Secure Neighborhoods by equipping personnel with adequate resources for community policing.
CURRENT YEAR FISCAL IMPACT
Approval of this resolution will authorize the Mayor to sign a five-year agreement with Taser International for body worn cameras and digital evidence storage services. The current budget already includes one-time funding from prior year salary savings for the body worn camera program. Because funding has been identified in the current fiscal year, no further appropriations are requested at this time. There is no net fiscal impact approving this resolution.
ONGOING FISCAL IMPACT
The Police Department has identified one-time funding from prior year salary savings to cover the program costs during the 5-year contract period. Before the contract period ends, the Police Department will coordinate with the Finance Department to sustain the program in subsequent fiscal years. Furthermore, the Police Department believes that the use of body worn cameras will reduce the number of citizen complaints and costly lawsuits about police misconduct. The positive fiscal impact of less complaints and lawsuits can potentially offset the ongoing costs of the BWC program.
Appropriations for the ongoing costs related to this program will be considered by the City Council as part of the development of the fiscal year 2016 budget.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1: Taser Quotation # Q-16108-8 (Agreement)
Staff Contact: Vern Sallee