City Council Meeting: March 25, 2008

Agenda Item: 1-J

To: Mayor and City Council

From: Timothy J. Jackman, Chief of Police

Subject: Contract with The Omega Group, Inc. for the sole source purchase of CrimeView Web and CrimeView Community software applications.

Recommended Action

Staff recommends the City Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a contract with The Omega Group, Inc. for the sole source purchase of CrimeView Web and CrimeView Community crime mapping software applications, and for maintenance of the software applications for a period of up to five years, for a total amount not to exceed $120,130.

Executive Summary

CrimeView is a crime mapping software application used by the Police Department’s Crime Analysis Unit to perform complex queries that identify crime trends and criminal activity patterns. The Police Department has utilized the CrimeView mapping system from The Omega Group since 2001. The CrimeView Web application is an add-on module that will allow Police Department staff to more widely utilize CrimeView by providing a more simplified interface to perform the same queries as Crime Analysis staff. The CrimeView Community application is another add-on module that will allow the public to perform similar queries and prepare their own crime maps via the Police Department’s website. Funds for this project are available in a capital account.

Discussion

The Police Department implemented the CrimeView crime mapping software application in 2001. This application has been primarily used by the Police Department’s Crime Analysis Unit to prepare maps and related reports of criminal activity. The maps and related reports are used by various staff in the Police Department to help identify crime trends and criminal activity. The CrimeView application is intended to be used by analysts specially trained in the use of the application. The application requires costly software licenses for each computer that it is installed on. The application is therefore impractical to deploy throughout the Police Department. CrimewView Web is a browser based version of the CrimeView software that performs the same functionality as CrimeView but has a far more simplified interface and can be run via the computer’s web browser thus eliminating the need for the costly software licenses for each computer. The implementation of CrimeView Web will allow for all Police Department staff to perform their own queries, thereby permitting Crime Analysis staff to focus more on the analysis of data versus producing maps and reports for others.

The CrimeView Community application is designed specifically for use by the public to create crime maps and related reports via the Police Department’s website. The application has a very simple interface and does not require the use of any special software as long as the public can access the Internet.

Contractor/Consultant Selection

The Omega Group’s suite of products, CrimeView, CrimeView Web and CrimeView Community, are all integrated with and require the use of ArcView, a software product made by ESRI. ArcView is the City’s standard GIS application for mapping and other geographic information-related processes. There are two crime mapping products that are supported by ESRI. The City has already invested into the suite of products from The Omega Group, Inc. Purchasing a new product to perform the same functionality as the CrimeView suite of products would not be financially practical, since an excessive amount of staff time would be required to redevelop the interface between another application and the Police Department’s Records Management System.

The City’s existing GIS systems and the proprietary nature of the ESRI platform require that a compatible software application for crime mapping be purchased on a sole source basis. Section 2.24.080 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code allows exceptions to competitive bidding when proprietary items are purchased from a manufacturer.

Financial Impacts & Budget Actions

Sufficient funds for the purchase of the software applications in the amount of $92,170 are available in account C22053707.589000. The initial purchase includes one year of maintenance. Optional maintenance agreement costs for four years are $27,960. Funding requirements for exercise of the four optional years of maintenance will be requested in future fiscal years’ proposed budgets as General Fund expenditures and will be subject to Council review and approval. If the necessary funds for a future fiscal year are not appropriated by City Council, the agreement will allow for termination of the contract, without penalty, at the sole discretion of the City.

Prepared by:

Eric Uller, Lead Public Safety Systems Analyst

Approved:	Forwarded to Council:
Timothy J. Jackman Chief of Police	P. Lamont Ewell City Manager