DEPARTMENT: Police
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Anthony L. Treviño, Interim chief of Police
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City Wide
SUBJECT:
Briefing on the Body-Worn Camera System [Erik Walsh, Deputy City Manager; Anthony Treviño, Chief of Police]
SUMMARY:
The Purchasing Division of the Finance Department, Information Technology Services Department (ITSD) and the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) Department has completed the process in seeking, reviewing and selecting a vendor for the deploying of Body Worn Digital Recording Systems (BWDRS), commonly referred to as body cameras, within its ranks.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The SAPD conducted a pilot test of body cameras during 2014. Upon completion of the pilot test program and the presentation of findings to the City Council the Police Department, with the Purchasing Division of Finance, developed and released a Request for Sealed Competitive Bids (RFCSP) and evaluated the proposals as required by Texas Local Government Code 252. The City is currently finalizing a contract with the recommended Awardee for the initial phase of this project.
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. 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.
The contract with the recommended Awardee will contain options to purchase up to approximately 2,186 cameras and final details are currently being negotiated. The recommended Awardee will provide an off-site (Cloud) storage solution based on the determination to implement off-site as opposed to on-site storage options. Based on current negotiations the proposed timeline for implementation is:
• Aug 2015 - RFCSP recommended Awardee meets approval from SAPD Chief, DCM, CTO & recommendation presented to PSC.
• Sept 2015 - RFCSP recommended Awardee will be presented to city council.
• Oct 2015 - RFCSP recommended Awardee contract & initial purchase.
The SAPD is planning a multi-year, phased-in deployment to purchase, train, and equip SAPD officers with body cameras.
Proposed deployment timeline:
• FY2016 Phase I-Downtown Bike Patrol Unit & Parks Police (251 BWC)
• FY2016-2017 Phase II-SAPD East, West, Central, North, South and Prue Patrol Divisions (approx. 1,405 BWC) (budget & grant funding permitting).
• FY2017-2018 Phase III- SAFFE operations at all substations, specialized patrol support functions, investigative units, etc. (approx. 531 BWC) (budget & grant funding permitting).
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.
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. The initial FY2016 Proposed Budget includes a $3,000,000 proposed allocation to provide funding for 1,534 body-worn cameras for the SAPD and Parks Police.
In June of 2015 the SAPD submitted a grant application to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) in response to the Body-Worn Camera (BWC) Pilot Implementation Program grant solicitation. If awarded the grant the City will be awarded up to $1,200,000.00 in grant funds and will provide up to a $1,200,000.00 In-Kind and/or Cash Match. The match will come from positions added to manage the program as well as Cash Match from the General Fund. The Match for this grant will be part of the FY2016 budget Process. Acceptance of the grant will be dependent upon final approval of matching funds. SAPD will continue to proactively seek out local, state and federal grant monies to fund the purchase and deployment of body cameras.
ISSUE:
This action continues City Council's policy of seeking innovative programs and technology for City crime prevention and law enforcement programs.
ALTERNATIVES:
To not proceed with a Body-Worn Camera program would make the SAPD continue to rely on the mobile in-car video systems currently being deployed. Units such as the Downtown Bicycle Patrol and Park Police would not have access to camera systems to record their operations and contact with the public.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The fiscal impact of this program will be determined by the final pricing schedule negotiated with the recommended Awardee. The pricing will include cost considerations associated with the storage of video derived from the body cameras.
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). The staffing for this program has been included in the SAPD’s FY2016 Budget requests.
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended the City of San Antonio enter into a contractual agreement with the recommended Awardee to outfit it’s the SAPD and Park Police with body cameras.