DEPARTMENT: Police
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Anthony Treviño
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT: Police Body Worn Cameras
SUMMARY:
At the request of the City Council, the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) is seeking funding options for the deploying of Body Worn Digital Recording Systems (BWDRS), commonly referred to as body cameras, within its ranks.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Based on the presentation and feedback received at the December 10, 2014 City Council B session, staff has reviewed the pilot program data and is prepared to address the issues and concerns raised by City Council and City staff.
The original deployment is projected to be 251 cameras. The San Antonio Park Police will be equipped with 179 cameras and the San Antonio Police Department Downtown Bike Patrol will have 72 cameras. Initial deployment will be to the Downtown Bike Patrol Unit and the Parks Police. These Units have been selected since they currently do not have video support. The Downtown Bike Patrol does not utilize patrol vehicles and thus does not have access to the Coban in-car system. The Park Police have not been issued Coban in-car systems, and a majority of their operations are on foot, ATV or bicycle.
With the adoption and deployment of body cameras for the Park Police and the Downtown Bike Patrol Unit, an assessment will need to be completed regarding the current inventory of computers and each facilities bandwidth/infrastructure to support the program. The Downtown Bike Patrol office, being part of the pilot program, has enough computers and bandwidth to support the program. However, it has been determined that the Park Police HQ and facilities current computer inventory and bandwidth are insufficient to handle the deployment of body cameras.
SAPD is reviewing several funding options for the body cameras. As part of the General Fund budget, the SAPD would submit a request for improvement in the appropriate Fiscal Years beginning with the FY2016 funding cycle. SAPD will also continue to proactively seek out local, state and federal grant monies to fund the purchase and deployment of body cameras. Additionally, as with the purchase of the Coban in-car video systems, the SAPD would explore the feasibility of utilizing a lease/purchase type funding program to acquire Body Cameras. Once funding has been established, a camera system will be determined using a RFP process.
There are two options for storage related to videos generated by the Body Cameras. The first would be to store the data internally through the City's Information Technology Department, on internal servers. Such storage would have to be funded from the Police Department's budget. Initial estimates place storage costs at $1.2M per year for a five year total of $6M.
The second would be to utilize a hosted (Cloud) based service provided by one of the camera vendors. These costs would be a part of the negotiated contract with the vendor. Depending upon which option the City purchases, the initial estimate for five years of storage for 251 cameras is $126K to $189K.
The Department will continue to monitor the evolving technology in body cameras and seek additional outside funding to further deploy camera technology within our field operations. This would include a multi-year, phased-in deployment plan to purchase, train, and equip an additional 1,750 police officers with body cameras.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The fiscal impact of this program will be determined by the make, model, and manufacturer selected to provide body cameras to the San Antonio Police Department.
Additional cost considerations will be those associated with the storage of video derived from the body cameras and whether an internal (City) storage system or a hosted (also known as "Cloud") storage system is selected.
Additional staffing will be required to support the system. Technical staff will be needed to work on the daily upkeep of the body cameras and their back office systems. Administrative staff will be required in order to manage and administer the growing video library created by the implementation of the body cameras program. This will include administering the video library for evidence management as well as responding to Open Record Requests (ORRs).
Initial Deployment of 251 units to Downtown Bike Patrol and Park Police would range from $445K to $1.65M, dependent upon camera system selected. The Five (5) Year cost of deployment of 251 units to Downtown Bike Patrol and Park Police would range from $2.2M to $8.1M, dependent upon camera system selected.
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended the City of San Antonio adopt a program to outfit its Downtown Bike Patrol Officers and Park Police Officers with body cameras. Additional consideration will be given to any upgrades and changes in technology and capabilities which have occurred over the last 12 months. Dependent upon which system is deployed; costs would range from an approximate low of $2.2M to an approximate high of $8.1M for equipment, method of storage, infrastructure, and support personnel.
It is also recommended the San Antonio Police Department continue to monitor and evaluate body camera systems for possible future deployment (in phases) to the other units within the Department.