ACTION REQUESTED:
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Communication from the City Manager and the Police Chief with a Request to APPROVE a SOLE SOURCE PURCHASE with SHOTSPOTTER (SST INC.) for a 3-Year Subscription to their Gunfire Location, Alert, and Analysis Service, in the Amount of $459,000.00, to Include Service to a Three (3) Square Mile Area Adjacent to the Existing Coverage Area Already in Place.
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BACKGROUND:
On November 19, 2013, the Peoria Police Department began using the ShotSpotter gunfire location, alert and analysis service within a three square mile coverage area of the city. Since that time, the service has proven effective in the departments on going Don't Shoot Program and its continuing goal of reducing gun violence within the city. ShotSpotter gunfire detection technology notifies officers in the field, usually within seconds, of a firearm discharge and accurately identifies the location of that discharge. That, in turn, allows for a fast and effective response from officers in the field who are now more likely to locate victims, evidence, witnesses and perpetrators who discharge firearms within the city. ShotSpotter technology, through its Investigative Portal, creates a record of those events that are used in follow up investigations, statistical crime analysis, and prosecution of offenders. This ability for officers to respond to calls of firearm discharges, with or without citizen complaint, has greatly enhanced the effectiveness and efficiency of patrol and investigative operations. An analysis of Peoria's ShotSpotter program thus far shows the police department received 358 ShotSpotter alerts in calendar year 2014. Of those incidents, citizens called 9-1-1 twenty-four percent (24%) of the time, leaving the remaining seventy-six (76%) of outdoor shooting incidents in the coverage area unreported except for ShotSpotter. Of all ShotSpotter alerts, ShotSpotter contributed to investigations involving 19 shooting victims, 34 arrests, and the recovery of 35 firearms. Because of the overall effort to reduce gun violence, "Shots Fired" calls to 9-1-1 dropped by 20% in non-ShotSpotter areas throughout the city. In the area of town covered by the ShotSpotter system, "Shots Fired" calls to 9-1-1 declined by 36%.
The coverage area for this proposed expansion of service is separate from the three (3) square mile coverage area already in place. The proposed expansion includes areas of the city commonly referred to as the near north side, east and center bluffs.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: Funding for this purchase would come from capital projects CB1449 and CB1549, account number 401-2101-550.54-07. The $459,000 cost includes a three year, three square mile, subscription of ShotSpotter services at $138,000 per year. A one-time $30,000 service initiation and startup fee and a $15,000 charge for an irregular boundary coverage to be paid in year two. (2015 - $138,000; 2016 - $183,000; 2017 - $138,000. 2016 & 2017 costs to be included in operations for the 2016/2017 biennial budget)
NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERNS: N/A
IMPACT IF APPROVED: The City of Peoria will benefit from an additional three square miles of geographical coverage of ShotSpotter's gunfire location, alert and analysis technology by enhancing the police department's response to incidents of firearm discharge that occur within the coverage area.
IMPACT IF DENIED: The City of Peoria will continue with the current three square mile coverage.
ALTERNATIVES: N/A
EEO CERTIFICATION NUMBER: 03222-140930
WHICH OF THE GOALS IDENTIFIED IN THE COUNCIL'S 2014 - 2029 STRATEGIC PLAN DOES THIS RECOMMENDATION ADVANCE?
1. Attractive Neighborhoods with Character: Safe and Livable
WHICH CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTOR(S) FROM THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN DOES THIS RECOMMENDATION IMPLEMENT?
1. Reduce crime.
2. Reinvest in neighborhoods.
DEPARTMENT: Police