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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-17-2016 Item 09 2016 US DOJ Federal Body Worn Camera Program Expansion & Implementation Grant Meeting Date: 5/17/2016 FROM: Deanna Cantrell, Chief of Police Prepared By: Keith Storton, Police Captain SUBJECT: 2016 U.S. DOJ FEDERAL BODY WORN CAMERA PROGRAM EXPANSION AND IMPLEMENTATION GRANT RECOMMENDATION 1. Authorize staff to pursue a grant application submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance, for federal fiscal years 2016-2018 in a total amount not to exceed $150,000, with the City providing a 50% match (no more than $75,000) for body worn camera program expansion and implementation; and 2. Authorize the City Manager to execute the necessary grant documents, and appropriate the grant amount into the Police Department’s budget upon grant award. DISCUSSION Recognizing the importance of building and sustaining positive community relationships, the San Luis Obispo Police Department, prior to the release of this grant opportunity, had already entered into a body worn camera (BWC) pilot program and embarked on a collaborative effort to create a policy and program that was reflective of the agency and the community the Department serves. In August of 2015 the department purchased ten body worn cameras, which were approved by the City Manager with carry-over funds from the 2014-15 budget. Additionally, as part of Council’s adoption of the 2015-2017 Financial Plan, a capital improvement project was approved to seek funding to support a permanent BWC program. The department is seeking grant opportunities as directed. Grant Details In late March of 2016, staff received notification of the availability of a federal grant to fund the purchase of additional BWCs. Successful applicants will develop and implement policies and practices for the effective adoption of a program. The police department has collaborated with department staff, impacted employee associations, Finance & Information Technology, the District Attorney’s Office, the Public Defender’s Office, the media, the City Attorney and other law enforcement agencies to create a policy and implement a pilot program that meets the needs of our community. Funds for the expansion of existing programs will be used for cameras and the associated hardware, software licenses, and contractual agreements directly related to the program 9 Packet Pg. 227 expansion. Funds will not be used for extended maintenance or support services for existing resources. The grant application deadline is Wednesday, April 27, 2016. Due to the delayed awareness of the grant and timeliness considerations, staff timely submitted the application prior to receiving City Council approval. Should Council not support the submittal of the effort, staff would withdraw the application. FISCAL IMPACT Per the grant application, the agency is required to match the total grant funding request. The City’s match will come from available funding in the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) Funds account. These funds have been awarded to the City (along with other municipalities in our County) annually since FY 2013; the state designated a total of $24 million to municipal police departments to support front line intervention services. Council approved these grant funds from the BSCC on April 2, 2013. At this time, the balance in this account is $92,493. Item Grant Funding City Match Wearable Body Cameras (50) $59,750 Network Switch (15) $2,925 Charging Bases (15) $3,000 Ethernet Transfer Station (3) $4,485 Device Licenses (26) $3,900 Data Storage $35,710 Installation $2,250 Third Year Extended Warranty $27,500 Device Licenses (24) $3,600 BWC PIP Training for Staff $5,000 Total Requested $74,060 $74,060 BSCC Funds Acct. 600.2466 Current Balance $92,493 City Match (74,060) Balance $18,433 9 Packet Pg. 228 ALTERNATIVE Council may direct staff to withdraw the application for federal grant funding. Staff does not recommend this alternative, as the funding will enhance the Police Department’s ability to expand its existing BWC program, benefitting public transparency and positive community relationships. Attachments: a - 80200 Police Body Worn Cameras & Video Storage 9 Packet Pg. 229 PUBLIC SAFETY POLICE BODY WORN CAMERAS & VIDEO STORAGE Project Description Purchasing body worn cameras for police field personnel and additional video storage will cost $69,000 in FY 2016-17.  Maintenance/Replacement  New project  Fleet Replacement  New Fleet Request  Council Goal / Measure Y Priority - List: Need and Urgency Many citizens have the ability to capture photographs or video images immediately. Often these images are transferred to others or viewed through a social media provider for others to see. Frequently enough images have been captured showing police officers and their encounters with citizens. Although most interactions police have with their communities are professional and non-confrontational at times images have shown officers engaged in acts of violence or perceived questionable circumstances. Although officer(s) were acting appropriately and within department policies, none the less, these images can be concerning and even disturbing depending on the perspective. Police Departments across the nation have either implemented or are looking into implementing body worn camera programs for their field personnel. Scrutiny of an officer(s) and their actions in the field are often called into question. Frequently enough accusations are made against police personnel ranging from excessive force to unprofessional behavior. In many instances these interactions may not be captured on audio or video and there is difficulty in assessing a true understanding of the situation. Sometimes these contacts may be captured by a video device but they only offer a single perspective of a much larger incident. Sometimes these images are from a distance, grainy or unfocused creating even greater obstacles as viewers assess or try to fill in the blanks of a given encounter. By providing field personnel with body worn cameras a visual and audio perspective is documented from the officer’s point of view. The body worn camera is just a single tool in the assessment of an incident, however, coupled with police radio traffic, phone calls, in-car video, statements and other evidence it is obvious video footage is an important piece of the overall puzzle. Allowing officers the ability to provide this video perspective from most places where they are allowed to be and perform their duty is critical as citizens look to departments to enhance accountability and transparency. In 2010 the City of Rialto PD (twice the size of San Luis Obispo PD) conducted a study involving the deployment of body worn cameras with police personnel. Over the course of a year there was a reduction of officer use of force incidents by 60% and a reduction of complaints against the police by 88%. Similar numbers were posted in the second year of the study. Rialto Police Chief Farrar oversaw the study and at the conclusion stated, “Whether the reduced number of complaints was because of the officers behaving better or the citizens behaving better-well, it was probably a little bit of both.” Many agencies that have gone to the use of body worn cameras have experienced similar results. Police supervisors and managers expend a great deal of time trying to examine use of force incidents and resolve citizen complaints. Many agencies allow complainants of officer conduct to view recorded footage. After viewing the footage the complaints are dropped and the need to continue with an involved 9.a Packet Pg. 230 At t a c h m e n t : a - 8 0 2 0 0 P o l i c e B o d y W o r n C a m e r a s & V i d e o S t o r a g e ( 1 3 2 8 : 2 0 1 6 F e d e r a l B o d y W o r n PUBLIC SAFETY POLICE BODY WORN CAMERAS & VIDEO STORAGE investigation is negated. Some complaints have been determined to be founded and provide managers with important evidence to move forward with the appropriate discipline or training depending on the circumstances. The same can be said for use of force incidents. Pilot Program In preparation of deploying body worn cameras to field personnel the department has been approved by the City Manager to utilize carry over funds from FY 13- 14 in the amount $15,000 to implement a pilot program to test, evaluate, prepare policy and purchase a limited number of cameras for long term testing. The pilot program will be implemented in four phases: Phase One: The first phase will include stakeholder outreach (i.e. the police unions, management, the Chief’s roundtable, Finance and IT) for policy/procedure development. Phase Two: The second phase will include research, testing and evaluation of available body worn technology and products. Phases one and two have been initiated and are expected to last approximately four months from January 2015 through April of 2015. Phase Three: Based upon the results of outreach and testing the department will use carry over funds to purchase 10-15 body worn cameras. With an estimated start date of July 1, 2015 these cameras will be assigned to selected field personnel for a one year trial period. This evaluation period will allow the department to analyze effectiveness, modify policy as needed, evaluate storage needs, and examine retention policies. Phase three will allow the department to transition into phase four with a broader understanding of the overall expectations and impacts of deploying body worn cameras for all field personnel. Phase Four: Phase four includes the completion and submission of this CIP request for fiscal year 2016-17 to purchase additional body worn cameras for the remaining field personnel in the department to further develop a more robust body worn camera program. Network Services is looking into storage solutions as the video storage needs of the department will increase. It is estimated that the department will need approximately 60 Terabytes of storage to store the 30 months of video as mandated by the City Video Policy. Staff is requesting to purchase 45 body worn cameras for an estimated amount of $45,000; additionally, the storage (as described above) will cost an estimated $24,000. Readiness to Build  Study complete or  n/a  Equipment purchased or  n/a 9.a Packet Pg. 231 At t a c h m e n t : a - 8 0 2 0 0 P o l i c e B o d y W o r n C a m e r a s & V i d e o S t o r a g e ( 1 3 2 8 : 2 0 1 6 F e d e r a l B o d y W o r n PUBLIC SAFETY POLICE BODY WORN CAMERAS & VIDEO STORAGE  Property owned or property agreement in place  n/a  Environmental approval and permits complete or  n/a  Specifications or construction documents complete  n/a  IT Steering Committee reviewed the Body Worn Camera proposal Environmental Review and Permits Required  Environmental Review  n/a  Building Permit  n/a  Waterway Permits (Fish & Game, Water Quality, Army Corps)  n/a  Railroad  n/a  Other: (Enter the title and agency of any other needed permits)  n/a Operating Program Number and Title: 80100 Project Phasing and Funding Sources  Continuing, ongoing or master account project - Specification No. Initial Project Costs by Phase Budget to Date 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 Total Equipment Acquisition $69,000 $69,000 Total $0 $0 $69,000 $0 $0 $0 $69,000 Budget to Date 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 Total Maintenance materials $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 $4,500 Total $0 $0 $0 $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 $4,500 Ongoing Costs by Type Detail of ongoing costs and alternatives to ongoing costs including return on investment information: There have been discussions at the Federal level to provide grant opportunities to communities to initiate body worn camera programs, however, at this time funds have not been devoted for this purpose. Additionally, locally some funds may be available to assist with the purchase of cameras through County Realignment funds, however, discussions will need to take place amongst the various SLO County and City agency representatives to determine how and when these funds are expended. The Department will monitor options at the federal, state and local level to determine alternative methods of funding should they arise. 9.a Packet Pg. 232 At t a c h m e n t : a - 8 0 2 0 0 P o l i c e B o d y W o r n C a m e r a s & V i d e o S t o r a g e ( 1 3 2 8 : 2 0 1 6 F e d e r a l B o d y W o r n PUBLIC SAFETY POLICE BODY WORN CAMERAS & VIDEO STORAGE Network Services determined the annual ongoing costs based on what staff expects to expend on drives annually. Anticipated Facility Life Span: 3 – 5 years Budget to Date 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 Total General Fund $69,000 $69,000 Total $0 $0 $69,000 $0 $0 $0 $69,000 Project Funding by Source Reduced / Enhanced Project Alternatives  Alternate project is feasible or advantageous – Cost of alternative project: The department could purchase fewer cameras to reduce equipment costs and storage needs; however, not all field personnel would have the ability to capture important video information.  Project can be phased – Number of years for phasing: Project Team Assignment Program Estimated Hours Project Proponent Police Department 20 Project Manager Police Department 40 Project Integration & Support Network Services 80 9.a Packet Pg. 233 At t a c h m e n t : a - 8 0 2 0 0 P o l i c e B o d y W o r n C a m e r a s & V i d e o S t o r a g e ( 1 3 2 8 : 2 0 1 6 F e d e r a l B o d y W o r n Page intentionally left blank.