2015 Department of Justice Body-Worn Camera Grant Application Copyright 2014
City of Dubuque Action Items # 6.
ITEM TITLE: 2015 Department of Justice Body-Worn Camera Grant Application
SUMMARY: City Manager recommending approval for the 2015 Department of Justice
Body-Worn Camera Grant application that will allow for the purchase of
120 Body-Worn Cameras over a two-year period.
SUGGESTED DISPOSITION: Suggested Disposition: Receive and File; Approve
ATTACHMENTS:
Description Type
❑ 2015 Department of Justice Body Wom Cameras-MVM Memo City Manager Memo
❑ Staff Memo Staff Memo
THE CITY OF Dubuque
U E I
erica .i
Masterpiece on the Mississippi 2007-2012-2013
TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT: 2015 Department of Justice Body Worn Camera Grant Application
DATE: June 5, 2015
Police Chief Mark Dalsing recommends City Council approval for the 2015 Department
of Justice Body Worn Camera Grant application. The two year grant project amount is
$120,000 and requires 50% local matching funds of the total project, which is already
budgeted. This will allow for the purchase of 120 Body Worn Cameras over a two year
period.
Under this plan the City would purchase 60 cameras, peripherals, and server space in
year one, at which time every officer in the Patrol Division would be permanently
assigned a Body Worn Camera. In year two the City would purchase an additional 60
cameras, peripherals, and server space, that will allow for a Body Worn Camera to be
assigned to every other sworn officer in the department. With an authorized strength of
109 officers, the total 120 cameras would allow for spares to cover Community
Resource Officers, other interns, other needs as identified, and would allow for spares
for the natural replacement of damaged equipment.
Members of the Dubuque community have stepped forward with donations to support
the Body Worn Camera initiative. At a regularly scheduled monthly meeting with the
Dubuque Area Landlords Association in late 2014, the board president presented a
check for $2,500 to the police department to further the Body Worn Camera initiative.
They cited their appreciation for the cooperative partnership with the Dubuque Police
Department and desire to protect the officers and keep them safe as the reason for their
donation. Subsequent media stories on the donation resulted in additional citizens
donating to the initiative. A total of$3,475 has been donated to this project including
the Dubuque Area Landlords Association donation. While the proposed grant funds and
budgeted funds should cover most of the expenses related to this project, there will be
natural equipment failures, and broken and lost cameras and these generous donations
will be properly spent to support the initial or ongoing expenses of a Body Worn Camera
program.
I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council
approval.
Mic ael C. Van Milligen'
MCVM:jh
Attachment
cc: Barry Lindahl, City Attorney
Cindy Steinhauser, Assistant City Manager
Teri Goodmann, Assistant City Manager
Mark Dalsing, Chief of Police
2
THE MY OF
DUB E MEMORANDUM
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
June 4, 2015
TO: Michael C. Van Milligen
City Manager
FR: Mark Dalsing
Chief of Police
RE: 2015 Department of Justice Body Worn Camera Grant Application
INTRODUCTION:
The purpose of this memorandum is to request City Council consideration for the
approval of the 2015 Department of Justice Body Worn Camera Grant application. The
two year grant project amount is $120,000 and requires 50% local matching funds of the
total project.
BACKGROUND:
In May 2015 the Department of Justice released its grant materials for the "Body-Worn
Camera Pilot Implementation Program." In reviewing the documents we found that the
Dubuque Police Department would be an agency that is eligible to apply.
The Dubuque Police Department has used body-worn cameras (BWC) on limited basis
for approximately seven years. First the Community Policing division began wearing
them as they did not have the benefit of squad car cameras, and approximately two
years ago we supplied the School Resource Officers (SRO) with cameras. The
Dubuque Police Department had already planned on further expanding the BWC
program, and if we are successful with this application we will be able to expedite the
program and provide greater coverage.
The department has had a committee in place since late 2014. The committee has been
tasked with equipment testing, policy development, use requirements, and training
requirements among other tasks.
During the FY2016 budget process the department requested and was approved
funding to provide 60 cameras over a two year period at a cost of$60,000. The initial
plan was to purchase 30 cameras, peripherals, and server space in year one. These
cameras would then be assigned to the Patrol Division and officers would need to share
them. In year two an additional 30 cameras, peripherals, and server space were to be
purchased. At that time each of the officers assigned to the Patrol Division would be
permanently assigned a BWC, and there would be spares for Community Resource
Officers (CRO), other interns, officers on special projects, or for other divisions to utilize.
1
Peripherals could include but is not limited to camera clips/holsters, cables, software,
licensing, and training costs.
If we are successful in this grant application, it is our intention to double the original
budgeted plan. Under this plan we would purchase 60 cameras, peripherals, and server
space in year one, at which time every officer in the Patrol Division would be
permanently assigned a BWC. In year two we would purchase an additional 60
cameras, peripherals, and server space. This would allow for a BWC to be assigned to
every other sworn officer in the department. With an authorized strength of 109 officers,
the total 120 cameras would allow for spares to cover CRO's, other interns, other needs
as identified, and would allow for spares for the natural replacement of damaged
equipment.
The 2015 Department of Justice Body Worn Camera Grant requires agencies to provide
a 50% match of the project total. As this is a two year grant, under this proposal the
department would still use the allocated funds in the FY16 & FY17 budgets to purchase
BWC, but would use the already budgeted funds as the matching funds for the grant,
with the remaining funds coming from the grant. The current budget description and
proposed grant description are described below:
CURRENT BUDGETED PLAN
Funding Source Amount Equipment
Year 1 FY2016 Budget $30,000 30 cameras, peripherals, and servers ace
Year 2 FY2017 Budget $30,000 30 cameras, peripherals, and servers ace
TOTAL $60,000
PROPOSED PLAN WITH DOJ GRANT
Funding Source Amount Equipment
Year 1 FY2016 Budget $30,000 60 cameras, peripherals, and servers ace
DOJ Grant $30,000
Year 2 FY2016 Budget $30,000 60 cameras, peripherals, and servers ace
DOJ Grant $30,000
TOTAL $120,000
Additionally, members of the Dubuque community have stepped forward with donations
to support the BWC initiative. At a regularly scheduled monthly meeting with the
Dubuque Area Landlords Association (DALA) in late 2014, the board president
presented a check for $2,500 to the police department to further the BWC initiative.
They cited their appreciation for the cooperative partnership with the Dubuque Police
Department and desire to protect the officers and keep them safe as the reason for their
donation. Subsequent media stories on the donation resulted in additional citizens
donating to the initiative. A total of$3,475 has been donated to this project including the
DALA donation. While the proposed grant funds and budgeted funds should cover most
2
of the expenses related to this project, we know that there will be natural equipment
failures, and broken and lost cameras and these generous donations will be properly
spent to support the initial or ongoing expenses of a BWC program.
DISCUSSION:
The Dubuque Police Department has utilized car cameras for approximately 20 years
and has had great success with them. The cameras often capture violations as they
occur, and accurately capture the temperament of the individuals involved in a situation,
including officers. In the vast majority of incidents recorded, Dubuque Police
Department officers have been found to be acting in a professional manner and within
policy. In the approximate seven years with a minimal number of BWC, the department
has seen similar success. We fully expect that once a BWC program is fully
implemented, the Dubuque Police Department will have another tool at its disposal to
accurately show how events unfold.
While the cameras do provide a fairly accurate representation of incidents, they are not
foolproof and do not always capture events as they occur. Like any piece of equipment,
cameras do fail, break and do not get used. They are also limited in the fact that they
face one direction and are attached to loose clothing. Because of issues like these, the
cameras do not always capture incidents. Because of the aforementioned issues, there
will also need to be an awareness campaign that goes out when we start a full program.
Citizens must be made aware of the fact that we are wearing them and what policies
are in place, but also the fact the BWC are not the cure-all remedy as they are often
portrayed.
Another issue we will contend with is availability. Because of the national push for BWC
and the fact that the DOJ is releasing grant money that many agencies will seek, many
manufacturers who are already behind on orders will see an even greater backlog.
While the FY16 budget funds will become available July 1 , 2015, the DOJ funds are
generally not available until October or later. This combined with manufacturer
backorders could delay implementation for several months. While we hope to be ready
to move forward July 1 , 2015, we must realize availability of our final selected model
could delay the program.
RECOMMENDATION:
I recommend submittal of the 2015 Department of Justice Body Worn Camera grant
application for the purchase of 120 BWC at a cost of$120,000, with the Dubuque Police
Department being responsible for 50% of the costs.
ACTION REQUESTED:
Review and approval of the materials, and City Council consideration to approve the
2015 Department of Justice Body Worn Camera grant application with a submission
deadline of June 16, 2015.
3