SR-06-24-2014-3MID
tmm City of City Council Report
Santa Monica
City Council Meeting: June 24, 2014
Agenda Item: _'H
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Jacqueline A. Seabrooks, Chief of Police
Subject: Senior Criminalist Contract
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that City Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and
execute a sole source contract with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, in an
amount not to exceed $156,000, for the services of one Senior Criminalist to perform
forensic deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analysis and testing, process crime scenes for
DNA evidence, provide associated courtroom testimony, and train Santa Monica Police
Department staff (Forensics Specialists and detectives).
Executive Summary
Staff relies on DNA evidence to solve crimes and to secure criminal filings and
convictions for criminal activity occurring within the City. The Santa Monica Police
Department's (SMPD) Forensic Lab is not equipped to conduct DNA analysis.
The Los Angeles County Crime Lab (County Crime Lab) analyzes DNA in the order it is
received from the majority of Los Angeles County's municipal law enforcement
agencies. An increased reliance on the County Crime Lab to process this form of
evidence has created a backlog of unanalyzed evidence. The Senior Criminalist would
handle only cases involving Santa Monica and would process and analyze DNA
evidence while also working with City staff on all aspects of the forensic response
including field work, crime scene processing, lab work, and courtroom testimony. The
contract will be for a one year period and total cost will not exceed $156,000.
Background
DNA evidence is a critically important investigative tool; the DNA analytic process is a
fast - advancing technology. Currently, the Police Department's Forensic Lab does not
possess or have direct access to the equipment necessary to process DNA evidence.
With the increased use of DNA evidence in criminal proceedings, consistent and timely
DNA forensic analysis is crucial to staff's ability to investigate cases efficiently and to
submit the analysis as evidence in support of criminal prosecutions.
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In accordance with a long- standing operational agreement with the Los Angeles County
Sheriff's Department, staff currently utilizes the services of the County Crime Lab and its
criminalists for specific types of crime scene processing. Staff submits DNA evidence to
the County Crime Lab for DNA extraction, analysis, and submission into the State's
known offender database. The substantial volume of cases handled by the County
Crime Lab has resulted in significant time lags in receiving the analyses results.
Because there is no mechanism to influence the order of evidence processing,
detectives receive evidentiary analyses from the County Crime Lab in the order that the
evidence was submitted. As a result, there can be delays, as much as six months, in
the identification of suspects and in solving crimes.
These delays also provide criminals with the opportunity to offend multiple times before
they are apprehended. In some cases, it has taken the County Crime Lab longer to
provide DNA analysis results than it has taken a suspect to navigate through the
criminal justice system. As a result, criminal cases have been adjudicated based on
lesser charges as there was no ability to bring about more substantial charges due to
the absence of the results of DNA analysis.
SMPD utilized the Orange County Sheriff's Crime Laboratory for DNA analysis from
2007 to 2012. On September 25, 2007, Council approved the expenditure of the
Department of Justice's Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) funds to outsource evidence for
DNA analysis. In 2012, the Orange County Sheriff's Department discontinued this
project and no longer accepts evidence from municipal agencies outside of its
jurisdiction. Private laboratories do not present a viable option for law enforcement as
they have become highly scrutinized following repeated findings of inconsistent
analytical procedures. Private laboratories also do not have the ability to provide
information directly to the State's known offender database.
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Discussion
Law enforcement recognizes the value of DNA analysis in the resolution of reported
crimes. The Glendale, Long Beach, and Torrance Police Departments have made this
same investment in on -site Senior Criminalists from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's
Department to expedite the analysis of DNA found at an array of crime scenes,
including those involving property crimes. SMPD recognizes that a Senior Criminalist
assigned to the SMPD Forensic Lab would be a valuable asset in the effort to enhance
public safety.
Under the terms of this agreement, Los Angeles County will assign one full time Senior
Criminalist to SMPD's Forensic Lab. The Senior Criminalist will be responsible for
completing cases based on the priorities set by SMPD. In addition, the Senior
Criminalist will provide direction and training to SMPD in areas related to sample
collection, crime scene investigation, case sampling testing, policy, and any other type
of information requirements or consultation related to forensic DNA testing and any
other forensic science discipline. The agreement also allows for crime scene field
response services on an on -call basis. This means that any time the assigned Senior
Criminalist is unavailable, an alternate trained Senior Criminalist will respond. The
Senior Criminalist will have remote computer access into the Sheriff's Department
Network from SMPD.
Contractor /Consultant Section
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is the sole source for this service- based,
contract agreement. In 2013 SMPD began exploring ways to expedite DNA processing
through the Los Angeles County Crime Lab. Equipping the SMPD forensic lab with DNA
processing equipment was determined to be cost prohibitive. Hiring a private lab was
not a viable option because of their inconsistent analytic procedures and the lack of
connectedness with State databases.
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Staff evaluated the option of assigning an on -site Senior Criminalist from the Los
Angeles County Crime Lab to the SMPD Forensic Lab full time. The cost would be the
standard Los Angeles County Senior Criminalist salary of $156,000. Glendale, Long
Beach and Torrance Police Departments had each made this investment already and
reported improvements in processing time as a result of having a dedicated Senior
Criminalist assigned to their Police Departments from the County Crime Lab.
Staff determined that a dedicated Senior Criminalist from the Los Angeles County Crime
Lab assigned to work on site in Santa Monica and handle only cases involving Santa
Monica would offer the most effective way to continue utilizing the services and
equipment of the County Crime Lab while eliminating the delays that currently exist and
ensuring evidence is processed in a timely manner so as to expedite crime solving and
prosecution of criminals.
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
The contract to be awarded to Los Angeles County is for an amount not to exceed
$156,000. Funds are available in the Department's expenditure control budget. The
contract will be charged to account S010300.589000.
Prepared by: Nicole Dibling- Moore, Senior Administrative Analyst
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Forwarded to Council:
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Rod Gould
City Manager
Reference:
Contract No. 9924
(CCS)