HomeMy WebLinkAboutR-2014-111 Sole Source Purchase of Eight Vigilant Solutions Mobile License Plate Reader Systems I
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RESOLUTION NO. R- 2014 -111
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A RESOLUTION authorizing the sole source and purchase of eight (8) Vigilant Solutions
Mobile License Plate Reader system
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WHEREAS, Article VI, Section 6 of the City of Yakima Charter and the Yakima Municipal
Code Chapter 1.80 generally! require that purchases in excess of $25,000 be done by
competitive bid, subject to certain exceptions; and
WHEREAS, the law r a "sole source purchase" exception from bidding
requirements, when due to the uniqueness of the product to be purchased and the fact there is
only one source for the product, it would be futile to utilize competitive bidding; and
WHEREAS, the Yakima! Police Department has a need to collect license plate data for
various investigative needs; and
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WHEREAS, Police staff have researched and determined that the Vigilant Solutions
system best suits the needs of the Police Department; and
WHEREAS, Vigilant Solutions best serves the Yakima Police Department's needs for
data sharing, and
WHEREAS, the Yakima City Council finds it to be in the best interest of the City to
authorize the purchase of eight (8) Vigilant Solutions Mobile License Plate Reader systems as a
sole source purchase without calling for bids; now, therefore
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BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF YAKIMA:
The City Manager of the City of Yakima is hereby authorized to purchase eight (8)
Vigilant Solutions Mobile Licenise Plate Reader systems as a sole source purchase without
calling for bids.
ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL this 19 day of August, 2014.
/G)( achf
Micah Cawley, Iayor
ATTEST:
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BUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
YAKIMA, WASHINGTON
AGENDA STATEMENT
Item No. 8.
For Meeting of: August 19, 2014
ITEM TITLE: Resolution authorizing Sole Source Purchase of eight (8)
Vigilant Solutions Mobile License Plate Reader Systems
SUBMITTED BY: Captain Jeff Schneider
SUMMARY EXPLANATION:
The Yakima Police Department intends to purchase and install 8 mobile license plate reader
systems in existing patrol vehicles to assist in reducing and investigating auto theft. Several
systems were researched and the Vigilant Solutions system best fit the needs of the department
in regard to data sharing options, operational costs, and system reliability.
Resolution: X Ordinance:
Other (Specify):
Contract: Contract Term:
Start Date: End Date:
Item Budgeted: Yes Amount: $164,247
Funding Source /Fiscal Police Capital budget
Impact:
Strategic Priority: Public Safety
Insurance Required? No
Mail to:
Phone:
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APPROVED FOR
SUBMITTAL: __f <•_,.. -. City Manager
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the approval of this sole source request.
ATTACHMENTS:
Description Upload Date Type
0 Resolution - Vigilant Solutions 7/28/2014 Resolution
0 Sole Source Justification - Vigilant Solutions 7/28/2014 Backup Material
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}: l tits of akin /Yakima County cu
SOLE. SOURCE JUSTIFICATION (revised 7tilav, 2.012)
Police/Administration
Your Name: Michael Henne Your Department/Division:
Your Phone: 575 - 6172 Requisition Number:
Requested Vendor: Dates Inc . / for Vigilant Solutions Cost Estimate (including TAX): 5164,247.60 p
3 64 Upland Dr Seattle
,WA Address: ,A 98188 Vendor E -Mail & Website: rvv date dateci inc net
liendor Contact Name: Bob Stein Vendor Phone: 1 -s00- 525 -9995
1. What are you purchasing? Describe the product. service or system. Attach all
information (Quotes, etc.):
8 Vigilant Solutions, Automated License Plate Reader (LPR) systcrns, Including tiardwarefsafhvare server
maintenance with data sharing and storage for five years.
2. Is this product/service available only through one vendor? ❑ NO • YES
If yes. attach documentation that supports the screening process you performed to confirm.
(e.g. Internet creenshots etc.)
3. Is this a onetime purchase? ❑ NO • YES If NO, explain.
"Unless r,ve decide to add additional units irk the future.
4. What efforts were made to assure the City/ County is receiving the lowest or best price
possible? Describe
See attached Memo dated Mardi 29, 2014 by Michael Herne. I completed a comparison and study of four different
providers of similar services_
5. ARE FEDERAL FUNDS BEING USED? ❑ NO ❑ YES
If Federal Funds are being used, a Cost Price Analysis prior to requesting Sole Source
MUST also be attached.
6. Below are eligible reasons for sole source. Check all boxes below that apply to your
sole source situation and attach any useful documents to justify the sole source. List
who you contacted, what they said and how you verified their accuracy.
❑ Compatibility to existing City /County standard or to existing equipment, inventory,
systems, data, programs or service. Describe, List efforts to find other sources (attach
documentation, e.g. Internet creenshots etc_)_
0 Patented product. Attach documentation to confirm propriety (patent letter, etc.) .
H Only authorized Service Provider, Repair andfor Warranty Services, Attach proof in
writing from the MANUFACTURER (not the vendor) confirming there is only one dealer
authorized to sell/service in our area. Is written certification attached? [1 NO ❑ YES
O Unique design: Requires unique features that are essential, aesthetic requirements, or not
practical to match to existing design or equipment. Describe_
I compared and evaluated four different LPR companies. Vigilant, L3, COBAN and PIPS_ I found that only Vigilant
met our needs for data sharing_ With Vigilant we are able to share data with all other agencies in their network,
E] Delivery Date: Only one supplier can meet required delivery date: Describe why the
delivery date is critical and list efforts to find other suppliers to meet the delivery date.
❑ Special Market conditions: Can be used to purchase items at auction (RCW 39,30.045) or
other items that are offered at a very favorable price and will be sold before and entity will
have a chance to complete the bidding process (e,g, a flood is coming and you must obtain
sandbags immediately). or only one supplier can (meet required delivery date (describe why
the delivery date is critical and list efforts to find other suppliers to (meet the delivery date).
❑ Other_ Please describe:
STATEMENT OF NEED:
My division's recommendation for sole source is based upon an objective review of
the good/service being required and appears to be in the best interest of the
City/ County. I know of no conflict of interest on my part or personal involvement in
any way with this request, No gratuities, favor, or compromising action have taken
place. Neither has my personal familiarity with particular brands, types of
equipment, materials or firms been a deciding influence on my request to sole
source this uurchase when there are other known suppliers to exist.
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SignaN i -q `+r Date6 it t 1
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Signature of De arif ent ad
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Recommendation of app val by Purchasing Mgr, Date
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.iRrM_ ._.... 1 4.I.1 A _ , A :r
Appro &.f by Executive Date
Please complete entire form and forward to Purchasing.
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Cily of Yakima + `
200 S. 3` Street k .
Police Department Yakima, Washington 98901 : 13'.
Dominic Rizzi Jr, chic:u Police Telephone (509) 575 -6200 Fax (509) 575 -6007 F.
lit #`Ot.[01
Memorandum .234 •
March 29, 2014
To: Dominic Rizzi
Chief of Police
From: Michael Hcnnc, 4885
Sergeant! Patrol Division
Subject: License Plate Readers (LPR)
After a very thorough research and testing period I am finally ready to make a
recommendation for a license plate reader system. I evaluated COBAN Technologies,
Vigilant Solutions, L3 Mobile Vision and the PIPS LPR systems. 1 recommend the
purchase of the Vigilant Solutions mobile LPR system. What gives Vigilant an advantage
over the other systems is found in the ability to access data (license plate reads) from other
agencies and civilian sources across the country. Data that is captured on every LPR system
that 1 researched included the license plate number, partial photo of the car, date and time of
the read and the GPS location where it was read.
Vigilant stores all data on their secured storage network. It is accessible 24-7 and downloads
and access is done via a secure interne' connection. Our agency makes the decision on who
we share our data with. The data can be accessed by all, none or only selected agencies
across the country. The system has a secure and redundant backup storage facility with 24
hour technical support. This alleviates our need to buy and maintain servers of our own,
Vigilant's system is being used by major metropolitan areas across the United States,
particularly in California. According to Vigilant, their LPR products are currently being used
by 2200 LE agencies with 26.000 LPR systems in use. They most recently signed a contract
with the California Highway Patrol and are in the process of' installing 240 LPR systems in
IIP patrol cars. Other agencies using the Vigilant system include= San Diego, Orange, San
Bernadino and Las Angeles County Sheriff's Offices. California Transit and San Diego PD
also use their systems. Closer to home, Bellevue PD and Hillsborough Oregon use their
stem,
I specifically mention the Southern California agencies since we have a direct corridor to
Ivle cico thpough California. Imagine the value in being able to enter a suspect's license plate
into Vigilant to assist in locating wanted subjects who we believe are fleeing to Mexico. I
also think this could be a valuable tool l'or drug trafficking investigations. Czars suspected of
being used for trafficking could be entered into the system and the investigator would receive
an E - mail every time that vehicle's license plate was read; giving him the recorded
information.
Vigilant started their LPR systems in the civilian market. They currently have civilians
patrolling the residential streets at night recording all license plates they come in contact
with. This information is used in the civilian realm for the purpose of repossessing cars for
banks. For an extra fee, law enforcement agencies are given access to all of this data as well.
Vigilant is offering YPD one year of free private data access. The bid includes five years of
access to all of their law enforcement reads and one year of their civilian read access.
Between the law enforcement and civilian units Vigilant is collecting over 70 million reaads
per month! What is important to note about the civilian side of their business is that the
civilian data is stored completely separate (in another state) from the lain enforcement data.
'Under no circumstances is the law enforcement data accessible to the civilian market,
Another feature that Vigilant provides is the ability to purchase a smart phone application
called "Car Detector Mobile Companion". This application allows any Android or I -phone
with a working camera to become a handheld LPI, I think that this could be useful at major
incidents_ An officer with this app could walk around and capture data of all cars parked in
the area at the time.
We tested COBAN and Vigilant's system in our city_ COBAN's cameras proved to he too
unreliable and were in constant need of adjustment_ What I found is that the cameras read
the license plates with infrared light provided by small bulbs located around the camera
lenses_ The success of the cameras is directly related to the number and quality of the bulbs
used in the infrared system_ COBAN had inferior cameras and fewer bulbs compared to the
others studied_ 1 eliminated them from consideration fairly quickly during the testing stage.
L3 refused to provide a test system to try at our PD. When questioned about references for
other agencies using their system i was told that there were "some agencies in Texas" but I
was never given a list of agencies to check references, even though I requested one on two
separate occasions_ However 1 was told that they are signing a contract to install cameras at
Disneyworld_
L3' data collection features and software appeared to be very similar to Vigilant's. From
IL's demo it appears as if their software may be a little easier to use but since we did not get
to test it 1 am unsure or that. The major difference between the two systems was in data
storage_ I, does not store agency data.. It requires in- house storage by each agency. 'l here
is no direct sharing of data between agencies unless they arc on our server. The positive to
this is that there is no risk of outside contamination or access.
Vigilant states there have been no recorded instances of outside contamination or tampering,
to this date, and feel that the chances of this happening are very slim if not impossible_
Because we would be working off of an internet based system all Vigilant software updates
are done on their end for no added costs_ L3 requires a service agreement at an extra $450.00
per year for updates_
COSTS
1 believe that at a minimum we should assign one LPlt system to each patrol squad and one
to each gang unit for a total of ten systems. I understand that the city has set aside a specific
amount of money for the purchase of these systems. My understanding is $135,000_ I
suggest that we use that money as a down payment towards a 5 year lease agreement, The
lease agreement has a 1 buyout at the end of the five years. This allows us to purchase more
units up front, It covers the majority of the expense and allows us to make monthly or annual
payments to cover the rest.
L3 is a less expensive option. The reason 113 is less expensive is because of the data sharing
fees and account management provided by Vigilant which L3 does not provide, As part of
Vigilant's bid they are throwing in one year of civilian data access and five years of account
management and access. ,Auer the first year it would cost the city another $2400.00 per year
to continue with that service, Also, after the five years has expired the management fee of
our account and the access to other agency reads would cost an additional $3600 per year_ If
we elect to pay cash for the units we would be able to purchase 8 L3 units for $137,283.82
compared to 6 Vigilant systems for $136,764.80.
Vr; ikni L 3
6 units: $136,764.80 IN /A
8 units: $164,247.60 $137,283.82
10 units: $194,803.28 5169,224,84
CONCLUSION
When 1 was assigned to this project 1 had absolutely no experience, training or knowledge
about LPRs other than that they could read license plates and notify the operator if a car was
stolen. What 1 have learned is that I,PRs are a much better investigative tool than 1 would
have ever imagined. Through my research 1 Teamed that there is a much greater value in the
collection of data documented by patrol 'vehicles operating an LPR system for later
investigative purposes, Obviously it will be a good tool in our light against auto thefts as
well.
i believe the greatest successes will be found in the stored data. More units on the street,
means more reads and data to search- This zs why 1 reel that the Vigilant system is much
more useful than the 1,3 system- The access to the millions of Vigilant's LPR reads from
other agencies will pay off in the long run and essentially gives us thousands of LPR's at our
disposal.
Respectfully,
Sergeant Mich , Henne
Approved:
Sergeant
Lieutenant Patrol Division
Captain Patrol Division
Chief - of Police
Protecting Officers,
Ide III G I LAI,NT Families and Communities
S E P L U T I O N S S
SOLE SOURCE POINTS FOR VIGILANT SOLUTIONS
• Vigilant Solutions owns and manages the single largest license plate recognition (LPR) data sharing
initiative, known as the National Vehicle Location Service (NVL )_ NVLS consists of over 1.5 billion
LPR scans, and is growing at a rate of 60-70 million monthly. This extensive LPR data set provides
intangible value from an investigative perspective,
• Vigilant Solutions offers a centralized hosted LPR offering eliminating any requirements of server
hardware, database expertise, and software maintenance from the Agency. This hosted offering is
made available by Vigilant in a secure data center with full backup and redundancy_ This service
from Vigilant provides data storage, database optimization, and software updates_
• Vigilant Solutions offers an exclusive feature known as Stakeout allowing for multiple points of interest
to be defined on a map, with corresponding geo -zones and times/dates, far the location of "common
plates` that are seen in more than one of the locations of interest. This feature allows for
investigations into pattern crimes (robberies, burglaries, sex offenses, etc) for generating leads into
the identification of serial offenders and the identification of associated members of organized criminal
enterprises_
• Vigilant Solutions offers an exclusive analytic known as Associate Analysis_ Associate Analysis
allows for a known plate to be analyzed for possible "associates," or other license plates that are
commonly seen at the same times and locations of the suspect This can be useful in determining a
suspect's possible associates, and also in analyzing a victim's plate to determine a pattern of
premeditation or stalking,
• Vigilant Solutions offers an exclusive srnartphone application known as the Mobile Companion_
Available for both iPhone and Android devices, the Mobile Companion allows for an agency user to
capture license plate images for checking against agency hotlists, perform queries against collected
data, and receive alerts on their smart phone. This is ideal for special events, bike rallies, and officers
on foot patrol.
• Vigilant Solutions' Mobile LPR solutions won the "CHP shoot -out" last year in which multiple LPR
vendors were evaluated on many criteria.
• Vigilant Solutions is the only vendor to provide the ability to administer software updates to field -
installed mobile LPR systems directly from the back - office. Software updates from Vigilant are made
available to Agency Managers in LEARN, and can then be pushed out to vehicles in the field via
standard LEARN server -to- vehicle communications. This feature saves time for the Agency in
administering field software updates.
• Vigilant Solutions is the only vendor to offer a wiring harness meeting the Society for Automotive
Engineers, SAE J -118 `Standard for !n -Gar Wiring Harnesses_ The wiring harness consists of fire
rated /retarded materials, including a `shut -off switch, Power Conditioner (to protect electronics against
varying vehicle voltages ), and inline fuse panel_
• Vigilant Solutions is the only LPR vendor that offers mobile LPR system using a Digital Signal
Processor (IJSP ). This is important to the Agency because a DSP unit is a solid -state device that
contains no moving parts including the processor, motherboard, or memory_ The DSP is designed for
ruggedized mobile conditions and is resistant to failure due to shock and other adverse conditions
commonly seen in a patrol vehicle.
• Vigilant Solutions offers an exclusive feature known as the Mapping Alert Service (MAS), MAS
enables the Agency to leverage the data sharing initiative of NVLS to match ALL available LPR data
against Agency hotlists and provide 'hits" on a map interface with agency - customizable icons_ This
2021 Las Post rrs Court., Suite it 1
+1 (925)398 -2079
Lrverrr7ore, California 94551 USA vigiTnt ohrtions_com
Protecting Officers,
VI 13 I LAIN Families and Communities
S O L U T I O N S 5
can be used both to locate vehicles of interest and also to visualize criminal "hot- spots" for predictive
policing efforts.
• Vigilant Solutions offers an exclusive feature in its mobile LPR system known as the Mobile Hit Hunter
{MHH }. Similar to MA S, M H H enables the Agency to match recent KIVLS data against the Agency
hotlists and distribute any resulting "htts" to NMI- equipped patrol vehicles that are within a two -mile
radius of the suspect vehicle. This service greatly enhances the efficiency of officers on patrol_
2021 Las Positcr,s Court" .Suite 107 +1 (925)398
Livermore, California 94551 115 # vlgila tsolutiions.corn