Title
Staff Report for a City of San Leandro City Council Resolution to Approve a Consulting Services Agreement with Smartwave Technologies to Install Ten Cameras on City Street Poles in the Amount of $50,822.75; and for a City of San Leandro City Council Resolution to Approve a Consulting Services Agreement with Ojo Technology to Configure the Ten Cameras on the City’s Video Management System in the Amount of $52,329.60; and to Approve the Purchase of 16 Switches from Western Pacific Signal in the Amount of $19,755.00, the Total Combined Costs for Which are $122,907.35; and to Approve a Corresponding Appropriation of Funding of $61,453.68 from the Information Technology Fund Balance (Fund 688) and Appropriation of Funding of $61,453.67 from the Frontline Grant Fund Balance (Fund 150)
Staffreport
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The San Leandro Police Department (SLPD) identified ten high impact areas around the City where new camera devices would aid investigations and serve traffic operations. The Information Technology (IT) Division developed an implementation plan and project for these sites that utilizes the City’s existing fiber optics and wireless infrastructure. The proposed project includes all required equipment, infrastructure, software and hardware to install and maintain the cameras. Usage would be consistent with the updated Administrative Policy for Public Safety Camera Recording Retention and Use.
The City Council Facilities and Transportation Committee reviewed the proposed implementation plan and project, provided comments, and voted to refer it to the City Council with a recommendation to approve as submitted. Staff recommends the City Council review, consider the City Council Facilities and Transportation Committee’s comments and recommendation, and approve the resolutions that will execute the plan and project. Staff also recommends the City Council approve appropriation of $61,453.68 from the Information Technology fund balance (fund 688) and appropriation of $61,453.67 from the Frontline Grant fund balance (fund 150) to offset the implementation costs. .
BACKGROUND
The City Council has heard on numerous occasions about the increasing importance of camera and video technology as part of public safety operations and previously directed the San Leandro Police Department to develop a proposal for their potential installation. Working with the City’s Information Technology (IT) Division and in alignment with the goals of the adopted Fiber Optic Master Plan & Smart City Strategy, staff identified ten locations where new cameras would benefit these goals.
Analysis
In response to the City Council’s request for a data-driven proposal for public safety cameras, staff analyzed data related to criminal activity and used that analysis to develop a draft list of potential locations for public safety cameras. The data analyzed included: violent crimes, property crimes, arrest data, and capacity for investigative assistance.
The first step in exploring potential public safety camera locations was to collect and analyze reported crime activity. This data included violent crimes and property crimes reported under the FBI’s Universal Crime Reporting (UCR) standard (for more information, see: <https://www.ucrdatatool.gov/offenses.cfm>). This data set represents the current national standard that agencies use in reporting criminal activity by jurisdiction to the federal government. Staff analyzed the data by generating a density (i.e. “hot spot”) map reflecting three years of UCR crime by geographical area. The areas displaying the highest concentration of reported crime were then ranked from highest to lowest as the first step in determining camera placement.
Next, Police Department staff partnered with the City’s Department of Engineering and Transportation staff to evaluate the density map as well all points where vehicles may presently enter or leave the City. By analyzing arrest data for the last 5 years, staff determined that most subjects arrested in the City for robbery and/or burglary were found not to be residents of San Leandro. In fact, only about 20% of subjects arrested for robbery or burglary were residents of San Leandro at the time of arrest, which becomes an important factor to consider when determining where, and how, suspects may flee after committing a crime and looking for investigative leads. Due to the relatively small geographical area of our city, with limited entry and exit points, offenders who do not live in San Leandro would likely have to enter and/or exit the City via one of several main thoroughfares. Additionally, it is much more difficult to find and apprehend a suspect once they have left City limits. Based on interviews with offenders who come into San Leandro to commit crimes, they are aware of this fact and use it to their advantage. Placing cameras at strategic locations within the City to cover main ingress and egress routes may assist with deterring this inclination and provide valuable investigative leads for staff.
The last factor that staff examined when determining potential camera sites was to identify those locations that offer the highest potential for providing investigative leads for solving cases. Staff took into account locations where major case investigations took place where cameras were instrumental in providing valuable leads for investigations, apprehending suspects, and the prosecution of serious crimes and serial offenders. Staff defined “major” investigations to include: homicide, kidnap, rape, robbery, shootings and assault with a deadly weapon, fatal vehicle accidents/DUI, home invasion robberies, burglary, and gang-related incidents. Cameras were used in these instances as a force multiplier, meaning they allowed the police department to harness technology appropriately to enhance the probability of solving cases.
It should be noted that cameras are most likely to be effective for solving crimes by identifying fleeing or departing vehicles and, potentially, for deterring crime if prospective criminals become aware of the presence of cameras. As such, the proposed locations are along roadways, rather than other public areas. In addition, criminal activity is sufficiently dispersed throughout the City that it would not be practical to expect cameras to effectively capture crimes as they occur.
Staff recommends the following locations based on a comprehensive, data-driven analysis of those locations throughout the City where public safety cameras would most effectively augment SLPD personnel in their efforts to investigate and solve crimes. Based upon this analysis, the following locations were identified in rank order:
1. Durant Ave. & Bancroft Ave. OR Bancroft Ave. & Dutton Ave.
2. MacArthur Blvd. & Superior Ave.
3. East 14th St. & Sybil Ave.
4. Monarch Bay Dr. & Mulford Point Dr.
5. Fargo Ave. & Washington Ave.
6. Estudillo Ave. & MacArthur Blvd.
7. Lewelling Blvd. & Hesperian Blvd.
8. Washington Ave. & Lewelling Blvd
9. Fairway Dr. & Merced St.
10. Davis St. & Timothy Dr. (Westgate Parking Lot)
The IT Division analyzed these locations and developed an implementation and design plan utilizing the City’s fiber optic and wireless telecommunications networks to integrate these locations with the City’s existing video management server.
In 2019 the City Manager executed Administrative Policy #2019-01, that governs how City public safety cameras are administered. The policy stipulates that video will be retained for a maximum of fifteen (15) days, unless part of a civil or criminal investigation; access shall be limited to staff with immediate and primary needs and must be approved by Department Heads, including the Police Chief; and recordings and images will not be routinely monitored and will only be checked in the event the City has a need, or probable cause, or reasonable suspicion to review recordings. Further, monitoring individuals based on protected class or characteristics including, but not limited to race, gender, sexual orientation, disability or other protected classification is strictly prohibited. The policy is attached for information.
Current Agency Policies
• Administrative Policy 2019 - 01: PROCEDURES FOR CAMERA RECORDING & USE
Previous Council Actions
• City Council Meeting Minutes dated December 5, 2016
• City Council Meeting Minutes dated February 26, 2018: Item 2.A
• City of San Leandro Fiber-optic Master Plan Implementation presentation dated September 17, 2018: 18-419
• City Council Meeting Minutes dated June 3, 2019
• City Council Meeting Minutes dated July 15, 2019
• City of San Leandro Work Session on City Cameras dated February 26, 2018
Fiscal Impacts
The total one-time cost associated with this proposal is anticipated to be approximately $122,907.35. This amount includes a combination of wireless infrastructure, network hardware, camera devices, software, licenses, and implementation and installation services. A breakdown of those approximate costs is as follows:
• The cameras and services to configure them and software licenses on the City’s video server are expected to cost $52,329.60.
• Wireless infrastructure, installation, and the mounting of cameras at City poles is expected to cost $50,822.75.
• Additional networking equipment is expected to cost $19,755.00.
In addition to the one-time installation costs, annual maintenance is expected to cost approximately $10,000.00 per year.
Budget Authority
Half of the one-time start-up costs ($61,453.68) is recommended to be appropriated and funded through the Information Technology 688 Fund Balance, to be programmed into operating account 688-13-121-7410, and the other half ($61,453.67) is recommended to be appropriated and funded through the SLPD Frontline (SLESF) Fund 150 Fund Balance, and programmed into operating account 150-21-011-7410.
Ongoing maintenance will be funded through the IT’s annual operating budget.
Committee Review and Actions
• City Council Facilities & Transportation Committee dated March 4, 2020 recommending moving the project to the full City Council for consideration
• City Council Facilities and Transportation Committee Meeting Minutes dated May 3, 2017
• City Council Facilities and Transportation Committee Meeting Minutes dated June 5, 2019: Item 2.A: 19-317- Staff Report for a project to upgrade twelve existing traffic observation cameras at various locations within the city.
Attachment(s) to Staff Report
Crime Analysis Heatmap for Proposed Camera Locations
PREPARED BY:
Denise Joseph, Crime Analyst, San Leandro Police Department
Scott Koll, Police Business Manager, Finance Department
Tony Batalla, Chief Technology Officer, City Manager’s Office