From
Fred Bates, Jr.
Title
Purchase of Eventide recording equipment from VistaCOM, a State approved Department of Information Resources (DIR) vendor, in the amount of $149,541.88, for interface with the new ASTRO 25 trunked radio system from Motorola Solutions
Presenter
Chief Steve Dye and Assistant Chief Michael Taylor, Police Department
Recommended Action
Approve
Analysis
On December 10, 2013 the City Council approved $12,400,415 for the purchase of a new P25 Compliant Public Safety digital radio system. Project 25 standards enables communication between neighboring systems at all levels of government, including federal, state and local entities. This level of communication is an important facet as it relates a multi-jurisdictional mutual aid mutual aid response and the subsequent allocation of resources.
All communications via the P25 radio system and 911 telephone lines must be captured and recorded. Due to new case law (the Michael Morton Act) there is now a requirement that all evidence be made available to criminal defense attorneys during the discovery phase of a trial. This has subsequently caused an increase in the request for recordings of all police radio traffic and 911 calls. This time consuming task is no longer conducive with the current system P25 radio system as it reduces productivity, requires increased maintenance hours, and no longer meets the Department’s needs.
This purchase will provide an upgraded recording system that logs and records all public safety radio traffic and 911 and public safety phone lines. This new recording solution will enhance the recording capabilities not only for public safety, but for all City departments that have a desire to record the IP based phones. This new recording solution offers many benefits, which include, but are not limited to:
1) Reduction in maintenance cost and I.T. man-hours
2) Increased productivity
3) Web-based accessibility
4) Rights driven access for each department
5) Quality Assurance capabilities
6) Training Resource audio
7) Live audio monitoring
8) Regional call trend indicators
9) User Customizable reporting
10) Caller specific tracking capabilities
11) Evidentiary Audio Preservation
Chapter 271.102 of the Local Government Code authorizes local governments to participate in a cooperative purchasing program with another local government or local cooperative organization. In lieu of competitive bidding, items and services may be purchased through such agreements as the agreements have already been bid by the sponsoring entity or agency. The City of Grand Prairie has master Inter-Local Cooperative Agreements with various entities including the DIR.
Financial Consideration
Funding for the purchase of Eventide Recording equipment from VistaCOM, a State approved Department of Information Resources (DIR) vendor, in the amount of $149,541.88, for interface with the new ASTRO 25 trunked radio system from Motorola Solutions is available in the Police Capital Projects Fund (401091), WO #01412503 (City Wide Radio System).