The Police Department needs to update the technology in the five (5) interview rooms located in the Police Facility, located at 11301 Acacia Parkway. There are three (3) interview rooms located on the second floor of the building, near the Investigations Division and two (2) interview rooms located on the first floor of the building in the City Jail.

The three (3) interview rooms in the Investigations Division have not been updated since they were originally installed during the 2007 second floor remodel of the police building. The hardware and recording systems in these interview rooms is now outdated and unreliable. In the nine years since the original remodel, recording technology has advanced greatly. The quality and reliability of the recording systems now available completely eclipse what was available in 2007.

The two interview rooms in the Garden Grove City Jail are not outfitted with audio and video recording equipment suitable for conducting investigative interviews. There is a general surveillance camera in each room for safety purposes, but the rooms are not equipped for audio recording.

At this point in time, quality audio and video recording equipment is more important than ever. The Courts and the public expect the police to record interactions with suspects, victims and general citizens. The current system the Police Department has is inadequate; the new system will be easier to operate, will produce better quality recordings, and will be able to make multiple recordings at the same time. The recordings will be in a format compatible with what the District Attorney’s office uses.

Due to the size and scope of this project, a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) was needed to evaluate all of the companies that were interested in participating in the selection process.

The RFP was posted on the City’s website on January 6, 2016. The pre-proposal mandatory meeting was held on May 21, 2015, with sixteen (16) companies in attendance. The due date for RFP No. S-1183 was February 8, 2016. Out of the sixteen companies that attended the mandatory meeting, four (4) submitted responses to the RFP; Microception, Inc., Taser International, Inc., Karcher Group, Inc., and Digital Networks Group, Inc.

The evaluation criteria and scoring weights were price (30%); project plan (30%); and qualifications/ability to meet the proposal requirements (40%) percent. The proposers finished with the following scores:

After completion of the RFP scoring, staff determined that the Microception, Inc., the highest scoring proposer, best suits the Police Department’s needs. Microception met all of the proposal requirements and provided the lowest pricing for the products and services requested in the RFP. They also provided positive references that can speak on their behalf of past projects that require the same type of products and services to law enforcement.

All of these factors weighed heavily in the scoring process, resulting in Microception, Inc., receiving the higher score of the four proposers.

The Garden Grove Strawberry Festival Association has pledged a donation of $13,000 to the Police Department, to update these interview rooms.

The Police Department has budgeted $60,000 of Fiscal Year 2015/16, Public Safety restricted funds to pay for this project.

It is recommended that the City Council:

• Award a contract to Microception, Inc., in the amount of $68,556.65; and

• Authorize the City Manager or his designee to sign the agreement and make any modifications as needed on behalf of the City

By: Lt. Ted Peaslee