Agenda Item Wording:
title
Authorization for TRATT Software Licenses - Authorize the City Manager to accept and appropriate $40,205 from the Tulare County AB286 Auto Theft Fund and award a 46-month sole source contract with Axon Enterprise Inc. to provide the Tulare Regional Auto Theft Task Force (TRATT) with four (4) software licenses for Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPR).
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Deadline for Action: 2/20/2024
Submitting Department: Police Department
Contact Name and Phone Number:
Chief of Police Jason Salazar, ext. 4215, jason.salazar@visalia.city <mailto:jason.salazar@visalia.city>;
Sergeant Clay Moffett, ext. 4240, clay.moffett@visalia.city <mailto:clay.moffett@visalia.city>;
Financial Analyst Liz Ybarra, ext. 4250, liz.ybarra@visalia.city <mailto:liz.ybarra@visalia.city>
Department Recommendation:
Authorize the City Manager to award a sole source contract for a 46-month service contract with Axon Enterprise Inc. in the amount of $40,205 to provide the Tulare County Auto Theft Task Force through the Visalia Police Department with four (4) software licenses for Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPR) to outfit the Tulare County Regional Auto Task Force (TRATT) funded through Tulare County AB286 Auto Theft Funds.
Summary:
On September 14, 2023, the Tulare County Chief’s Association authorized $45,194.78 in AB286, AB183, and DMV funds to be allocated to outfit four (4) Tulare County Regional Auto Task Force (TRATT) vehicles with Axon Fleet 3 ALPR camera systems.
On March 21, 2022, the Council approved the purchase of 133 AXON Fleet 3 ALPR camera systems, to replace the obsolete ICOP camera systems. Funding for this project came from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. The installation of 133 AXON Fleet 3 ALPR camera system in marked patrol cars has been completed in multiple phases, and the remaining installations will be completed by January 2027, coinciding with scheduled vehicle replacements. The activation of the ALPR Licenses will follow the same installation schedule.
A second amendment to the AXON service contract (C22053) to purchase a single ALPR License was completed for the unmarked vehicle in the Department’s fleet assigned to TRATT. This additional purchase of one AXON Fleet 3 ALPR camera system for the TRATT vehicle could not be included in the same contract as the 133 ALPR licenses. A separate contract for the TRATT vehicle separated the expenditure since funding for this vehicle came from sources under AB286.
The remaining four (4) unmarked TRATT vehicles need to be outfitted with the AXON Fleet 3 ALPR camera systems. Outfitting these remaining vehicles will provide the auto theft unit with a two-lens camera system that includes a forward-facing camera with a wide-angle view to capture and record activity to the front of the vehicle. Axon Fleet 3 can also function as an ALPR system due to the front camera being equipped with an additional lens that is capable of scanning and reading vehicle license plates in a range up to 50 feet in front of the vehicle and at an angle of 60 degrees from the camera. The ALPR software reads license plates and can identify vehicle license plates and compare them to license plates that have been entered into the Stolen Vehicle System (SVS), the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), or manually entered as a wanted vehicle by the Department.
All AXON hardware currently installed in the vehicles would require the use of Axon software and could not be transferred to another provider. The Department would be required to purchase additional hardware and software to utilize a different service. By utilizing Axon, the Department would be able to activate this service immediately upon purchase while utilizing the existing operating system software provided by Axon (Evidence.com). This tool will be significant in helping the Department increase the rate of criminal apprehension and vehicle recoveries related to vehicle theft and violent crime.
Background Discussion:
During the review and evaluation of AXON Fleet 3, the Department was able to test the ALPR and immediately discovered the benefits it would have towards locating stolen vehicles and reducing auto-theft rates. In 2023, the Department had reported a 7% increase in auto-theft compared to the prior year and the geographic region in the Central Valley or California has historically and consistently experienced one of the highest auto-theft rates in the nation. Since te City initiated the trial and evaluation with ALPR, there has been an increased stolen vehicle recovery rate of 414% from the same reporting period in 2021. In the four-weeks of evaluation (only two of which had full deployment of 88 systems), the City’s Police Department recovered 21 stolen vehicles utilizing ALPR, accounting for 58% of the total recoveries.
AXON Fleet 3 ALPR works by identifying vehicle license plates that have been entered into the Stolen Vehicle System, National Crime Information Center, or manually entered by sworn officers within the Department. The cameras that are currently installed in the patrol cars capture the license and plate and compare the plate to a “hotlist” of stolen or wanted vehicles. This analysis will provide a result and notify the officer in approximately one second. Since we currently use AXON Fleet 3, an ALPR would require no additional software or hardware installation. The service is already activated for additional evaluation with the permission of Axon. Because the hardware have installed is proprietary, there is no other system that can be used without requiring the installation of additional hardware or software.
Fiscal Impact:
Appropriate a total of $40,205 in AB286 Funds. State Anti-Auto Theft Funds will reimburse the General Fund. State Auto Theft Funds are disbursed by the State of California to the County of Tulare with the Tulare County District Attorney’s Officer serving as the fiscal agent for Tulare County. These funds are identified in the General Fund under 2104/T21001. Auto Theft Funds can only be used for personnel and equipment for the purpose of prevention and suppression of auto theft. The State of California passes on a portion of DMV registration fees to the County, to be used specifically for auto theft prevention and suppression.
Projected Auto Theft Funds available as follows:
|
Description |
Quantity |
Unit Cost |
Extended Cost |
|
ALPR Camera |
4 |
$9,734.60 |
$38,938.40 |
|
Tax |
$1,265.82 |
|
Total |
$40,204.22 |
The attached quote falls under the same Axon Master Services and Purchasing Agreement signed by the City Manager on March 30, 2022. The first amendment to the contract added 133 ALPR licenses and the second amendment added one (1) ALPR license. A third amendment to contract C22053 will be processed to add these four (4) ALPR licenses.
Prior Council Action: AXON MAV contract approved on March 21, 2022, for installation of 133 units.
Other: N/A
Alternatives: Not to move forward with the contract.
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
Authorize the City Manager to accept and appropriate $40,205 from the Tulare County AB286 Auto Theft Fund and award a 46-month sole source contract with Axon Enterprise Inc. to provide the Tulare Regional Auto Theft Task Force (TARTT) with four (4) software licenses for Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPR).
end
Environmental Assessment Status: N/A
CEQA Review: N/A
Attachments: Axon Quote.