Report Prepared by: Jacob Struble, Lieutenant, Police Department
Title
SUBJECT: Approval of a 6-Year Agreement with Axon Enterprises Inc. for the Purchase of Additional Body Worn Cameras, Conducted Energy Weapons (Known as “Tasers”), Computer Aided Dispatch / Records Management System (CAD/RMS) Integration and Redaction Assistant Software for the Police Department for a Total Amount of $789,899.50; Approval to Waive the Competitive Bidding Requirement to Allow for the Purchase of Standardized Equipment
REPORT IN BRIEF
Considers the approval of an agreement with Axon Enterprises Inc. for the purchase of additional body worn cameras, Tasers, CAD/RMS Integration, and redaction assistant software agreement for a total amount of $789,899.50 over the six-year contract period. Also considers waiving the competitive bidding requirement pursuant to Merced Municipal Code section 3.04.210 for purchases necessary for standardization of particular types of equipment.
RECOMMENDATION
City Council - Adopt a motion waving the competitive bidding requirements as stated in Section 3.04.210 of the Merced Municipal Code and approving a 6-year agreement with Axon Enterprises Inc. for the purchase of additional body worn cameras, Tasers, CAD/RMS integration, redaction software and a 6-year licensing, data storage and service plan in the total amount of $789,899.50.
Body
ALTERNATIVES
1. Approve as recommended by staff; or
2. Refer back to staff with direction; or
3. Continue to a subsequent meeting; or
4. Take no action
AUTHORITY
Article III of Title 3, Chapter 3.04, of the Merced Municipal Code relating to purchases over Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars.
CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES
As provided for in the 2018-19 Adopted Budget
DISCUSSION
Currently the City of Merced is in a contract with Taser International for body worn cameras and Tasers. The contract started October 1, 2016 and is for a 5-year term. The contract provides sixty-seven (67) body worn cameras and Tasers. Sixty-seven (67) units is not adequate to outfit all Merced Police Department personnel with the necessary equipment.
In April 2017, Taser International changed its name to Axon Enterprises. Accordingly, the proposed new contract will be with Axon Enterprises.
The City of Merced Police Department is budgeted (2018-2019) for ninety-eight (98) sworn positions and forty (40) non-sworn positions. Of the ninety-eight (98) sworn positions, seven (7) positions are administrative positions. There are five (5) non-sworn personnel that are issued Tasers as part of their equipment.
Given the shortage of equipment and advancements in technology, the department has worked closely with Axon Enterprises to come up with a new contract that will better fit the needs of the police department.
The first year of the proposed new contract would provide eighty-four (84) body worn cameras. In addition, the new contract increases the number of body worn cameras annually by three (3). At the end of the six-year contract, the department would be equipped with ninety-nine (99) body worn cameras.
The newly proposed contract also includes twenty (20) additional Tasers, bringing the total number of Tasers to eighty seven (87.) The additional Tasers must be added in the first year based upon the purchasing process of Axon Enterprises. The Tasers are financed through the first five years of the six-year contract.
A CAD/RMS integration option and redaction assistant software are included in the proposed new contract. The CAD/RMS integration allows the Axon system to detect all officer(s) on a call for service and automatically tag and link the videos together in the evidence.com system. This eliminates officers having to individually tag their body worn camera videos.
The CAD/RMS feature will assist with locating existing videos for subpoenas, discovery requests and Public Records Act Requests.
With the recent enactment of SB 1421 and AB 748, absent an exception, body worn camera videos may be released to the public. Prior to release, some of the body worn camera videos will require redaction to protect the privacy interests of those appearing in the videos. . Axon currently has redaction software built into their storage location at evidence.com, but this redaction software is very time consuming for the user. For example, it can take an officer one and a half hours to redact just four (4) minutes of video. With the redaction assistant feature added under the proposed agreement, the user can click on tabs that will automatically locate faces, license plates and screens (MDT) very quickly. This software will greatly decrease the number of hours and resources spent redacting body worn camera video.
There will be new costs associated with the addition of the new body worn cameras, Tasers, CAD/RMS integration and Redaction Assistant software. Currently the 2018/2019 budget for the police department includes $81,468.00 dollars for the current Taser International contract. Under the proposed new contract, the cost would increase by $58,780.50 for a total of $140,248.50 in fiscal year 2018/2019. The increase is due to adding the additional body worn cameras, Tasers, CAD/RMS Integration, Redaction Assistant Software and miscellaneous hardware.
The payment breakdown for the proposed new contract is as follows:
March 2019 $140,248.50 ($81,468.00 budgeted)
March 2020 $142,586.00
March 2021 $146,306.00
March 2022 $121,082.00
March 2023 $128,893.00
March 2024 $110,784.00
TOTAL $789,899.50
The decrease in cost at year four (2022) is due to the current sixty-seven (67) Taser devices from the City’s existing contract being paid off.
The Merced Police Department currently uses Axon body worn cameras and Tasers. Axon Enterprises stores all of the digital evidence from the body worn cameras on their server and would continue to do so if this contract is approved. Axon Enterprises would also store all redacted videos on their server. Since the Merced Police Department and the City already uses Axon Enterprises, the department is requesting the competitive bid process be waived to allow for the purchase of standardized equipment. At this time, there are several years of video evidence already stored on the Axon Enterprises server.
The current contract with Taser International will be terminated upon the execution of the new proposed 6 year contract with Axon Enterprises.
IMPACT ON CITY RESOURCES
The 2018/2019 Police Budget includes $81,468.00 dollars for costs associated with the current Taser International/Axon contract. The existing funds are located in account 061-1026-522-17.00. With the proposed new contract there will be a shortage of $58,780.50 dollars. The Department is expecting to use existing salary savings to cover the shortage.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Axon Enterprises Quote