Item 6-H
April 13, 1999 Santa Monica, California
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Staff
SUBJECT: Recommendation to Authorize the City Manager to Negotiate and Execute a Contract with GTE for use of The Bastille Law Enforcement Intranet Service
INTRODUCTION
This report recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a contract with GTE Law Enforcement Services for The Bastille, a system that allows the police department to share crime information with other local, regional, and national law enforcement agencies over a private network.
BACKGROUND
In March 1998, the Police Department became a focus group member of the GTE Bastille service. The Bastille is an intranet-based subscription service created exclusively for law enforcement agencies. It provides a secure, private network for information sharing and real-time communication between local, regional, and national law enforcement agencies.
DISCUSSION
The Bastille allows the police department to input crime information shortly after occurrence and allow other agencies to view the information almost immediately. Currently, the department uses phone, fax, or monthly meetings to disseminate crime information. The Bastille also allows encrypted e-mail and newsgroups, on-line conversations, sophisticated searching tools, and the geo-mapping of incidents. The Bastille allows the entry of photographs, sketches, and will have the ability to perform facial recognition searches.
Currently there is no similar system or service available to law enforcement in California or at the Federal Level. GTE is the first company to have created a service that will allow for an unprecedented way to communicate between law enforcement agencies in various jurisdictions. GTE is the sole-provider of The Bastille. Ordinance Number 1743 (CCS), Section 5, paragraph 2.24.080 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code allows exception to competitive bidding when the items or services are only available from a sole-source manufacturer.
BUDGET/FISCAL IMPACT
As a result of the police department
=s active participation as a focus group member, GTE Law Enforcement Services will waive the monthly subscription fee for the use of The Bastille for three years and up to ten (10) workstations. There are minor costs associated with the workstations accessing the system. These costs will be less than $1,000 and will be absorbed by the Police Department=s operating budget (01-300-304-00000-4401-00000).After the three years, estimated costs will be $2400 per year per workstation with an estimated four to five workstations in use at the department.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a three-year, fee-waived contract with GTE Law Enforcement Services for use of The Bastille system.
Prepared by: James T. Butts, Jr., Chief of Police