SR-05-13-2014-3J - 701-012City Council Meeting: May 13, 2014
Agenda Item:
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Jacqueline A. Seabrooks, Chief of Police
Subject: Transportation of Santa Monica Police Department Prisoners
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and
execute a contract service agreement with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's
Department (LASD) in an amount not to exceed $99,183 for prisoner transportation
services from Santa Monica to the Los Angeles Superior Court at Los Angeles
International Airport (LAX), with four additional one -year renewal option(s) for a total
amount not to exceed $548,049 (includes a five percent annual contingency).
Executive Summary
The Santa Monica Police Department has been utilizing the services of the Los Angeles
County Sheriff's Department to transport prisoners from the SMPD Jail to the LAX
Courthouse since July 2004; the current service agreement expires on June 30, 2014.
Under the terms of the service agreement, the Sheriff Department's personnel make
one pick -up at SMPD on each court business day and transports both male and female
prisoners to the LAX Courthouse. SMPD's personnel provide security for the loading of
the LASD's bus and are responsible for the custody of all arrestees until the arrestees
are physically on the bus. Staff recommends continuing to contract with the Sheriff's
Department for five years. FY 2014 -15 costs would be $99,183 and future year funding
would be contingent on Council budget approval.
Background
Beginning in 2000, the Los Angeles County Superior Court, in an effort to consolidate its
operations and reduce costs, started to transfer some criminal cases from the Santa
Monica Branch Courthouse to the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Branch of the
Superior Court. On June 11, 2004, the City was informed that no criminal case
proceedings would take place at the Santa Monica Branch Courthouse and that all
criminal case hearings involving Santa Monica Police Department arrestees would
occur at the Airport Branch Courthouse.
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In response to the Superior Court's decision, City staff identified and investigated three
options in 2004: video arraignments, an in -house prisoner transportation unit, and a
service agreement with LASD for prisoner transport.
In 2004, Council opted to enter into a service agreement with the Los Angeles County
Sheriff's Department for prisoner transport.
On June 23, 2009, Council authorized a service agreement with the Los Angeles
County Sheriff's Department to provide daily prisoner transportation services from the
SMPD Jail to the LAX Courthouse for a term of three years with two additional one -year
options to extend.
Discussion
For ten years the Sheriff's Department has coordinated with the SMPD to transport
prisoners on each court business day from the SMPD Jail to the LAX courthouse. Per
the agreement, SMPD provides an Order to Transport to the Sheriff's Department in the
form of a teletype no later than 4:30 AM on the day of service. The Order to Transport
contains information including the number of prisoners, their gender, and the court
destination of each prisoner. SMPD provides and processes all necessary prisoner
paperwork for court. SMPD prepares the prisoners, their property, and their paperwork
for transportation to the LAX Court. SMPD's personnel are responsible for all aspects of
prisoner security during the entire time that the prisoners are housed or contained within
a SMPD facility and until the departure of the Sheriff's Department bus from a SMPD
facility at which point the Sheriff's Department is deemed to have taken physical
custody of and assumes the responsibility for SMPD prisoners. Custody of any SMPD
prisoner who is not arraigned reverts back to SMPD. Within ninety minutes of being
notified by the Sheriff's Department, SMPD either picks up such prisoners from LAX
court and transports such prisoners back to SMPD's detention facility, sends authorized
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SMPD personnel to release any such prisoners from LAX Court, or faxes written
authorization for the Sheriff's Department to release any such prisoners.
SMPD does not currently have its own in -house prisoner transportation unit. Creating
one would require reassigning of personnel from other units within the police
department. Additionally, the SMPD personnel who would be carrying out these duties
would not have the years of experience and the extensive support system, for this
function, that the Sheriff's Department already possesses. Based on the Sheriff's
Department's expertise and resources in prisoner transportation, as well as ten years of
successful coordination between the SMPD and the Sheriff's Department in the area of
prisoner transport, staff's assessment is that the services have worked well for the
SMPD and should be continued.
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
The service agreement to be awarded to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
is $99,183 for FY2014 -15. Funds are included in the FY2014 -15 proposed budget in
account number 01304.566960. Budget authority for subsequent budget years will be
requested in each budget for Council approval. Future funding is contingent upon Council
approval and budget adoption.
Prepared by: Nicole Dibling- Moore, Senior Administrative Analyst
Approved:
Forwarded to Council:
uelin 9bab rooks Rod Gould
f of Pdice City Manager
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Reference:
Contract No. 9904
(CCS)