Agenda Item Wording:
title
Authorize the City Manager to award (2) separate sole source five (5) year service contracts with Axon Enterprise Inc. located in Scottsdale, Arizona in the amount of $374,414 & $11,885 to provide the Visalia Police Department with 134 software licenses for Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPR) and one (1) Mobile Audio/Video System (MAVS); and to appropriate a total of $62,604 for FY 22/23 and $70,068 FY 23/24. Installation and payment to take place over 5 years.
body
Deadline for Action: 2/23/2023
Submitting Department: Police Department
Contact Name and Phone Number: Chief Jason Salazar, ext. 4215, jason.salazar@visalia.city <mailto:jason.salazar@visalia.city> ; Captain Dan Ford, ext. 4151, daniel.ford@visalia.city <mailto:daniel.ford@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 (2) separate sole source five (5) year service contracts with Axon Enterprise Inc. located in Scottsdale, Arizona in the amount of $374,414 & $11,885 to provide the Visalia Police Department with 134 software licenses for Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPR) and one (1) Mobile Audio/Video System (MAVS) and to appropriate a total of $62,604 for FY 22/23 and $70,068 FY 23/24. Installation and payment to take place over 5 years. The addition of this new service provided by AXON falls under the same Master Services and Purchasing Agreement signed on March 21, 2022.
Summary:
On March 21, 2022, Council approved the purchase of 133 AXON Fleet 3 MAVS (in-car camera systems) to replace the obsolete ICOP MAVS utilizing ARPA funds. The installation of 133 MAVS in marked patrol cars will be completed in multiple phases with 88 installations in the first phase completed by January 2023 and the remaining installs by January 2027 coinciding with scheduled vehicle replacements. The activation of the ALPR Licenses will follow the same installation schedule. A second AXON service contract is required to install 1 MAVS unit and 1 ALPR License to an unmarked truck in the Department’s fleet (2017 Chevy Silverado) assigned to the Tulare County Regional Auto Theft Task Force (TRATT). The additional purchase for (1) MAVS/ALPR unit for the TRATT vehicle could not be included in the same contract as the 133 ALPR Licenses because equipment could not be added to the software licensing contract. A separate contract for the TRATT vehicle also separates the expenditure for the TRATT vehicle, which will be funded utilizing auto theft funding sources under AB286.
The AXON Fleet 3 MAV in-car recording system provides the Visalia Police Department 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 patrol vehicle. Axon Fleet 3 can also function as 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 in order 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 recovery related to vehicle theft and violent crime.
Background Discussion:
During the Department’s review evaluation of AXON Fleet 3, staff were able to test the ALPR and immediately discovered the benefits it would have towards locating stolen vehicles, reducing auto-theft rates, and conducting additional criminal investigations not associated with vehicle theft. This year alone, the Department has reported a 32% increase in auto-theft compared to the prior year and our geographic region in the Central Valley of California has historically and consistently experienced one of the highest auto-theft rates in the nation. Since the Department initiated our trial and evaluation with ALPR in November 2022, the Department has increased our stolen vehicle recovery rate by 95% from the same reporting period in 2021. In the eight weeks of evaluation, staff recovered 44 stolen vehicles utilizing ALPR, accounting for 93% of the Department’s total recoveries. With the increase in auto-theft rates, this technology has shown to be an effective tool in recovering stolen vehicles and arresting offenders and a valuable tool in the Department’s efforts to reduce auto theft in the community that are often-times related to other criminal activity as well.
In addition to an improved response for auto-theft related crimes, ALPR can also provide significant benefits through its community care taking functions and as an investigatory tool. ALPR allows for staff to enter license plates for missing persons that are considered at-risk due to medical or mental health conditions. This allows staff to proactively push out license plate information in quick manner to alert officers while providing an investigative tool ascertain the whereabouts of the person prior to being reported missing. This same feature can assist staff in criminal investigations by allowing staff to enter plates for vehicles that are associated with wanted subjects or criminal acts. Investigators can also use previously scanned license plates to identify if subjects were observed traveling to or from a crime scene. Finally, ALPR can identify license plates associated with lawn enforcement-based alerts that are generated and shared statewide.
Axon Fleet 3 ALPR works by identifying vehicle license plates that have been entered in 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. Because the Department currently uses Axon Fleet 3, the ALPR would require no additional software or hardware installation. The service is already activated for additional evaluation with the permission of Axon. Axon hardware is proprietary, and no other system can be used without requiring the installation of additional hardware or software.
Fiscal Impact:
The total contract award is for $386,299. Appropriate a total of $132,672 ($62,604 FY 22/23 & $70,068 FY 23/24) in the General Fund. AB286 Funds (State Anti-Auto Theft Funds) will reimburse the General Fund. State Auto Theft Funds are disbursed by State to the County of Tulare with Tulare County’s District Attorney 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 counties to be used specifically for auto theft prevention and suppression. There is currently $192,957 of uncommitted funds on account in 2104/T21001 and Tulare County has confirmed that we have $129,375 available for disbursement for total available funds of $322,332 as of 6/30/2022. The first payment will be made upon approval of this contract which will cover services from 3/1/2023 through 12/31/2023. The December annual payments will coincide with the current contract signed March 21,2022 for the new Fleet 3 in-car cameras. Appropriations for future years of the contract will be completed during the Biennial Budget process . Services for cameras and the ALPR will end on 12/31/2027.
Projected Auto Theft Funds available is as follows:
|
VISALIA POLICE DEPARTMENT |
|
Auto Theft Funds 5 Year projection Earnings/Expenditures |
|
2104/T21001 |
|
FY |
Earnings |
Expenditures |
Balance |
|
Beg. Balance |
$192,957 |
|
$192,957 |
|
FY 21/22 |
$129,375 |
|
$322,332 |
|
FY22/23 |
$65,000 |
$76,141 |
$311,191 |
|
FY 23/24 |
$65,000 |
$84,205 |
$291,986 |
|
FY 24/25 |
$65,000 |
$92,280 |
$264,706 |
|
FY 25/26 |
$65,000 |
$100,283 |
$229,423 |
|
FY 26/27 |
$65,000 |
$108,400 |
$186,023 |
Payment and Installation schedule is as follows:
|
ALPR Payment Schedule |
|
Payment Date |
Feb 2023 |
Dec 2023 |
Dec 2024 |
Dec 2025 |
Dec 2026 |
Total |
|
Payment #1 |
$60,227 |
$67,691 |
$75,046 |
$82,185 |
$89,265 |
$374,414 |
|
Payment #2 |
$2,377 |
$2,377 |
$2,377 |
$2,377 |
$2,377 |
$11,885 |
|
Total |
$62,604 |
$70,068 |
$77,423 |
$84,562 |
$91,642 |
$386,299 |
|
Number of MAVS Installations and ALPR Activations |
|
Install Date |
Feb 2023 |
Jan 2024 |
Jan 2025 |
Jan 2026 |
Jan 2027 |
Total |
|
# of units |
89 |
11 |
11 |
11 |
12 |
134 |
Prior Council Action: AXON MAVS Master Services and purchasing Agreement approved 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 award (2) separate sole source five (5) year service contracts with Axon Enterprise Inc. located in Scottsdale, Arizona in the amount of $374,414 & $11,885 to provide the Visalia Police Department with 134 software licenses for Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPR) and one (1) Mobile Audio/Video System (MAVS and to appropriate a total of $62,604 for FY 22/23 and $70,068 FY 23/24. Installation and payment to take place over 5 years.
end
Environmental Assessment Status: N/A
CEQA Review: N/A
Attachments: Axon MAVS Master Agreement & Quotes.