| | | | | | | | Agenda Item - 3.f.
City of Garden Grove
INTER-DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM
| To: | Scott C. Stiles
| From: | Todd E. Elgin
| | Dept.: | City Manager
| Dept.: | Police
| | Subject: | Approval of a Subscription Agreement for CLEAR Investigative Services with Thomson Reuters for law enforcement-only access to information databases. (Cost: $72,000) (Action Item)
| Date: | 11/13/2018 |
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| | | | | | | | OBJECTIVE
To obtain City Council approval for the Police Department to subscribe to CLEAR investigative services with Thomson Reuters, for law enforcement-only access to information databases. |
| | | | | | | | BACKGROUND
The Police Department relies heavily on the availability of accurate, real-time and historical data to solve crimes and ensure public safety. To that end, the Department currently has a standard information platform subscription agreement with Thomson Reuters under their CLEAR Program, which gives officers access to person, residence and phone number information and data pin mapping. |
| | | | | | | | DISCUSSION
Until recently, the Department also had access to the Vigilant Solutions automated license plate reader (LPR) database free of charge, through the Anaheim Police Department account. Using the two separate systems (CLEAR and Vigilant) has not been an ideal solution for investigators, but having free access to the LPR database has saved the city thousands of dollars a year for a number of years. The Anaheim Police Department has revoked our access to the Vigilant database, so we must now pay for our own subscription to maintain access to this critical investigative tool.
Thomson Reuters recently upgraded their law enforcement platform, offering a single subscription to access the CLEAR databases, CLEAR LPR with Vigilant commercial data and many other data sources. These data are indispensable investigative tools for the Police Department; the LPR database alone contains more than seven billion license plate detections, giving detectives and patrol officers the ability to more quickly locate suspects.
Thomson Reuters is the only vendor that provides this type of combined, single-portal access to all of these databases (see attached sole source letter).
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| | | | | | | | FINANCIAL IMPACT
Currently the Department pays approximately $6,600 per year for access to the standard CLEAR databases. The annual cost of a subscription to the combined platform is approximately $24,000, a net increase of approximately $17,400. The initial subscription agreement requires a minimum 36-month commitment and includes a three percent (3%) year-over-year increase in years two and three; at the end of the 36-month term the monthly fee will increase by seven percent (7%). Even with the annual increases, this rate is substantially discounted as a result of our long-standing relationship with the vendor.
The cost of a pro-rated subscription for the remainder of fiscal year 2018-2019 can be absorbed in the Police Department’s current adopted budget. Funds in the amount of $17,500 will need to be appropriated for FY 2019-20, and should increase each subsequent year to accommodate the year-over-year fee increases.
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| | | | | | | | RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council:
• Approve the subscription agreement with Thomson Reuters for CLEAR Investigative Services; and
• Authorize the City Manager to execute the agreement on behalf of the City, and make minor modifications as appropriate thereto.
By: Courtney Allison, Fiscal Analyst
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| ATTACHMENTS: | | Description | Upload Date | Type | File Name | | Thomson Reuters Sole Source | 10/30/2018 | Backup Material | CLEAR_LPR_Sole_Source_Letter_20180912.pdf |
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