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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAGENDA REPORT 2002 0501 CC REG ITEM 11HITEM P• 4• CTTV or'► ooRrARK. CAT,TFORN'TA City C011ncil merting of ACTNIN: MOORPARK CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT Fv: To: The Honorable City Council From: Bob LeMay, Acting Chief of Police Date: April 22, 2002 (CC Meeting of May 1, 2002) Subject: Consider Amending Previously Approved CLEEPS Expenditures DISCUSSION: In September of 2000, The City of Moorpark received funds from a state grant, CLEEPS (California Law Enforcement Equipment Program), in the amount of $110,300. The original objective of the program was to provide one -time competitive grants to law enforcement agencies for the acquisition of high -tech equipment used for both criminal justice items and emergency responses. It was generally accepted that this award had to be spent within two ( 2 ) years. In July of 2001, your Honorable Council approved spending a large portion of the original amount on numerous upgrades involving items that would benefit both the City's Police Department, as well as the City's Emergency Operations Center. Part of the original amount approved was $11,000.00 toward a Laser Mapping /Measuring Device to be used for in major accidents and critical incidents. Since that time, the Ventura County Sheriff's Department has acquired some of these devices on their own, one of which is in use at the East County Patrol Station in Thousand Oaks. In conversations with the Sheriff's Department, I have been assured that the device would be offered and made available to investigators involving such incidents in City of Moorpark as part of the overhead services. 4 ko % P✓ J Honorable City Council CLEEPS Grant April 22, 2002 Page 2 Secondly, we did not purchase one of the designated five (5) radar guns, $2,300.00 and the laser speed gun, $2,500.00, for a combined savings of $4,800.00. This makes the total saving at $15,800.00. In light of this new information, and our financial responsibility to the City, my staff and I no longer feel there is a need for the City to purchase any of these devices and make the following recommendations as alternatives: Item #1 - Time Lapse Video System Justification- Surveillance video systems are now commonplace in most businesses, both large and small throughout Moorpark. Almost all surveillance systems use multiple cameras and record their image so they can be reviewed at a later time when a crime is discovered. Most systems use a time -lapse video recorder to capture these images. These systems vary greatly and there is no industry standard to which format a time -lapse tape is recorded. When a crime occurs and a videotape is recovered as evidence, there are up to 40 different formats that the video could have been recorded in. Reviewing a surveillance tape on the original system it was recorded on is not always possible or practical. To begin the process of reviewing a tape, several pieces of video equipment are needed. It then commonly takes hours of reviewing a tape to find the correct cameras to watch and then the video images need to be transferred to a still photograph for identification of a suspect and evidence purposes in court. If the tape can be reviewed on the original surveillance system there is no way to transfer the pictures for later use. The video system that we are interested in purchasing gives us the capability to review any videotape format available today. The system allows still photographs to be printed or converted to a standard VHS format for review on any standard VHS player. Additionally, any tape can be converted to a digital image and then stored on a digital hard drive. The photographs can then be enhanced to make the image clearer and make suspect Honorable City Council CLEEPS Grant April 22, 2002 Page 3 identification possible. It is not uncommon to have a video with the picture of a suspect, but the suspect is too far away and identification is not possible. By digitally enhancing the video it makes identification easier and also allows the images to be sent via e -mail to any other law enforcement agency. In the last year we have solved a number of crimes because of surveillance videos. A felony vandalism at Moorpark High School showed the students as they entered the school during the middle of the night and caused $13,000.00 in damage. A string of over 25 vehicle burglaries was solved after the suspect used a victim's credit card at the Ralph's grocery store in Moorpark. We were able to identify the suspect using his picture captured on the stores surveillance system. And most recently a stabbing on Moorpark Avenue occurred and one of the suspects was captured on a Laundromat's video surveillance system as he fled the scene. Currently we have no capability of reviewing videotapes at the station. We routinely spend time at East County Sheriff's Station or the Crime Lab in Ventura reviewing tapes and printing photographs. The ability to have an in house system will greatly improve our ability to promptly review evidence and reduce our time away from the city. Total Package Cost - $8,100.00 Item #2 - Mobil Data Computers Justification - These Mobil Data computers will allow the officers immediate access to driver, vehicle, state, county criminal records, and warrant information. The County has issued similar data computers to both investigators and patrol units. This was accomplished through a county grant and the funds restricted the number of units issued to investigators and patrol only. Our school resources officers (SRO's) encounter the same needs for information in a timely manner as do our patrol officers and investigators. This need is increased by the fact that the SRO's are isolated in a campus environment. Currently the SRO's have to call Ventura records and have a records technician i.VV N.J Honorable City Council CLEEPS Grant April 22, 2002 Page 4 research the information. With the CDPD the information is available at the officers fingertips right at his /her work site. CDPD Laptops Panasonic CF -27 $3,893.00 each RAM upgrade 114.00 each Sub -Total $7,900.00 Video System $8,100.00 Total $16,000.00 STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Approve said modifications to the purchasing of the listed equipment with the mentioned CLEEPS funds as contained in this report.