The Garden Grove Police Department has utilized IVS for more than 15 years and is currently on the fourth generation of equipment, which now includes BWC’s.  The current system was purchased last year and has proven to be unreliable and must be replaced. 

The Police Department has utilized IVS to record video evidence for more than 15 years.  The acquisition of BWC’s in 2018 enhanced the ability to record events outside the perspective of the IVS.  The video captured by these systems has been highly effective in providing evidence for traffic violations and enforcement, criminal investigations and in-progress activity, and has played a critical role in the internal investigations.  The proposed purchase would equip all 55 marked enforcement vehicles with IVS and would provide 120 BWC’s to field officers.

During the preparation for the replacement of the current system, the Police Department worked with the Information Systems Department, collected information from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA), and conducted research among neighboring law enforcement agencies and determined that the Axon, Inc., product and system would best suit the needs of the Police Department.

Many neighboring cities including Santa Ana Police, Fullerton Police, Anaheim Police, and Westminster Police all successfully utilize the Axon system.  The Orange County District Attorney’s Office currently is electronically interfaced with the Axon cloud storage solution.  This eliminates the need to transfer files on physical media and transporting it to the OCDA’s office when filing a criminal case, saving staff time and City resources. Axon will provide the City Attorney the same access for local cases.  The Department has identified this feature as an additional efficiency that will save hours of staff time.  Cloud storage costs are fixed per officer and vehicle for the contract term and the amount of video storage is unlimited, eliminating the need to purchase additional on-premise storage.

The City of Tucson, Arizona, recently solicited bids through a Request for Proposals process and subsequently awarded a purchase order contract to Axon Enterprise, Inc., for an integrated system to include IVS, BWC’s, and cloud-based storage.  Section 2.50.060(e) of the Municipal Code allows an exception to the competitive bidding process when another public agency has competitively procured the same goods and/or services, and when the purchase price and other terms similar to those in a contract awarded are made available to the City of Garden Grove.  The Garden Grove Police Department recommends use of the cooperative purchasing agreement on the City of Tucson’s purchase order contract with Axon Enterprise, Inc., to secure goods at the same unit price as specified in the contract.

The project cost will be spread over five budget years. The first-year balance of $453,630.38 is recommended to be appropriated from the Fleet Management Fund, as the IVS and BWC's work seemlessly together to provide a fully modernized vehicle for our public safety personnel. For contract years 2-5 budget appropriation in the amount of $237,504 per fiscal year will be addressed during the regular budget cycle.

It is recommended that the City Council:

• Approve an agreement with Axon Enterprises, Inc., in the amount of $1,403,646.38, for the purchase of in-car video (IVS), body worn cameras (BWC), cloud storage and related hardware components;

• Appropriate $453,630.38 from the Fleet Management Fund;

• Appropriate from the Fleet Management Fund the cost of not more than 10% of the first year contract amount, or $45,363 for unforeseen contingencies during the project management and implementation stages of the project with the approval of the City Manager or his designee; and 

• Authorize the City Manager to execute the agreement.