SUBJECT/RECOMMENDATION:
Title
Approve an agreement between the City of Clearwater and Fusus of Peachtree Corners, Georgia, for a video and data collaboration platform, associated equipment and training, in an amount not to exceed $345,000, to commence upon execution of the contract and expire three calendar years after the execution date, pursuant to City Code of Ordinances Section 2.563(1)(a), Single Source, and authorize the appropriate officials to execute same. (consent)
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SUMMARY:
On February 20, 2020, City Council authorized the purchase of technology and equipment to implement and construct a Real Time Crime Center (RTCC) within the main police headquarters building. The RTCC provides all facets of the agency with live intelligence relating to emerging criminal threats, threats to citizen/officer safety, and provides investigative leads using security cameras, License Plate Reader (LPR) cameras and various databases. LPRs are strategically deployed throughout the city and work in concert with the RTCC to provide our personnel with additional investigative avenues for solving crime, keeping our citizens and visitors safe, and preventing victimization.
CPD seeks to enhance the current capabilities of the RTCC through the incorporation of the Fusus platform. Fusus creates a public safety ecosystem that combines video from a variety of sources with computer aided dispatch (CAD) data, officer location information, and other law enforcement sources - including the Flock LPR system which was recently approved for implementation. The Fusus platform allows investigators within the RTCC the ability to view/access these video feeds and provides a mapped view with instant access to secondary applications. Access to these data sources results in real-time intelligence which can be provided to dispatch, responding units and detectives, while enhancing citizen, officer, and community safety. The Fusus product also allows for archival views of video footage, allowing instant access to key evidence, while enhancing productivity of both CPD officers and detectives.
Fusus fosters public-private partnerships, wherein private organizations/entities can opt-in to either register the existence of private security video systems with CPD or allow real-time viewing of some, or all, of the private video cameras, allowing for advanced intelligence concerning recently occurred or ongoing events. Access to these private video systems is accomplished through the purchase or supply of Fusus Core devices, which can connect with almost any video system, allowing situational awareness in real-time to the RTCC from a variety of businesses, private entities, or City facilities. Fusus Core devices, which allow real-time viewing from private security systems, must be purchased; these items range in cost from $250 to $5,000 depending on the size and complexity of the video system being accessed.
Fusus is already utilized by several local law enforcement agencies with existing RTCCs. After review with the City’s IT Department, CPD seeks approval to enter into an agreement with Fusus to provide a video and data collaboration platform at a cost of $95,000 per year. The initial term of this agreement is for three years; therefore, total cost of the agreement for video and data collaboration and training is $285,000. CPD also requests authorization to purchase annually up to $20,000 worth of Core devices, depending on need and application. The authorization for Core devices, over the three years of the agreement, would total $60,000.
CPD has funding available for the first year of this agreement. Future fiscal year funding will be required through the annual operating budget process.
APPROPRIATION CODE AND AMOUNT:
Funding for the first year of this agreement is available through special program 181-99387 (Federal Forfeiture Sharing).
Future fiscal year funding will be requested through the annual budget process increasing the Police Department operating budget by approximately $115,000 annually.