Title
Sheriff’s Office recommending the Board:
1) Authorize the Sheriff to sign a Memorandum of Understanding and Cost Share Agreement for the Central Valley Information Sharing System for the term June 4, 2019 through June 3, 2020 for the use of the Lexis Nexis information sharing system, Accurint Virtual Crime Center; and
2) Authorize payments estimated at $36,000 for the County's annual maintenance costs for the use of the Lexis Nexis information sharing system.
FUNDING: Homeland Security Grant Funds.
Body
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
In June 2009, Sacramento County executed an MOU to promote effective information sharing with regional Law Enforcement Agencies (LEA) such as the Auburn, Citrus Heights, City of Roseville, Elk Grove, Folsom, Galt, City of Sacramento and Lincoln Police Departments, and the Placer and Yolo County Sheriff’s Departments. A first amendment in 2011 added the West Sacramento Police Department; a second amendment in 2012 added the Winters Police Department; and a third amendment, also in 2012, added the Sacramento County Probation Department. On February 11, 2014, and March 25, 2014, a fourth amendment added El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office, El Dorado County Probation Department, and Placerville and South Lake Tahoe Police Departments.
LEAs rely on a wide variety of data from multiple distinct information systems to carry out their missions, and effectively sharing data and information among law enforcement agencies improves the effectiveness of the LEAs. In order to promote this effective information sharing among regional LEAs, in 2009, a group of LEAs formed the Central Valley Information Sharing System with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The purpose of CVISS is to establish an integrated system of information technology that maximizes the sharing of data and communication between the participating agencies securely. CVISS currently has 22 members, including the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department, Sacramento District Attorney, and the Sacramento Probation Department, and continues to expand.
For many years, CVISS member agencies used a platform called Coplink to share data and information between their systems. Initially, the Coplink Information Sharing System was used to allow for a strengthening of information sharing, collaboration capabilities and law enforcement investigations through a fully integrated information-sharing platform. Prior to the Coplink system, information sharing between disparate Record Management Systems (RMS) was very problematic. Sacramento County, through the use of Homeland Security Grant funds, acquired the Coplink System, and an initial MOU was developed to set forth the terms and conditions of this partnership between local law enforcement agencies to share the resource and its costs. El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office and other local law enforcement agencies were added as participants in this consortium to benefit from the sharing of vital resources within the law enforcement communities. The CVISS Board of Directors has now decided to replace Coplink with a different information sharing system platform from LexisNexis Risk Solutions called AVCC.
AVCC and Coplink perform largely the same function: they allow for the sharing and consolidation of CVISS member agencies’ data from multiple systems maintained by each agency in order to produce actionable information. However, AVCC offers several significant improvements over Coplink. First, in addition to searching, sharing, and consolidating data from member agencies’ own systems, AVCC is also able to utilize public records data, which Coplink cannot do. Second, with Coplink, each time a member agency changes one of its data systems (e.g., Computer Aided Dispatch, Records Management System), there is a significant expense (approximately $50,000) to ‘reintegrate’ the system into Coplink. This expense caused some agencies to stop sharing data through CVISS. There is no such reintegration expense with AVCC. Third, AVCC has many useful crime analysis tools, whereas Coplink does not. Lastly, AVCC has fewer glitches and technical difficulties than Coplink.
The El Dorado County Sheriff's Office has expended Homeland Security Grant funds in the past for the County's portion in the cost sharing, and is anticipated to continue using Homeland Security Grant funds in current and future grant cycles.
ALTERNATIVES
N/A.
PRIOR BOARD ACTION
On February 11, 2014, Legistar Item # 14-0087, the Board approved the Fourth Amendment to the MOU for CVISS to add the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office, and the City of Placerville and City of South Lake Tahoe Police Departments as members, and enter into the cost sharing agreement for a one-time initial, and annual maintenance costs. On March 25, 2014, Legistar Item # 14-0418, the El Dorado County Probation Department membership was added to the Fourth Amendment and approved.
OTHER DEPARTMENT / AGENCY INVOLVEMENT
County Counsel has approved these documents.
CAO RECOMMENDATION / COMMENTS
Approve as recommended.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
No impact to Net County Cost. Current and future Homeland Security Grants will fund these costs.
CLERK OF THE BOARD FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
N/A
STRATEGIC PLAN COMPONENT
Public Safety
CONTACT
Undersheriff Randy Peshon