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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. I 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. K 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. 191 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 El Forwarded to Council: e° a Rod Gould City Manager Reference: Contract No. 9924 (CCS)