SR-05-12-2015-3G- City Council Report
City of
Santa Monica'
City Council Regular Meeting: May 12, 2015
Agenda Item:
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Jacqueline Seabrooks, Chief of Police
Subject: Authorization to execute Professional Services Agreement for Senior
Criminalist
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that City Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and
execute a professional services agreement with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's
Department for the services of one Senior Criminalist to perform forensic
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analysis and services for a one -year period. This is a sole
source contract in an amount not to exceed $168,032 with future year funding
contingent on Council budget approval.
Executive Summary
Staff relies on DNA evidence to solve crimes, secure criminal filings, and make
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 created a backlog of unanalyzed evidence; therefore, under a pilot program,
staff contracted with the County Crime Lab for an assigned Senior Criminalist to handle
only cases involving Santa Monica DNA evidence. The Senior Criminalist processes
and analyzes 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. Staff recommends continuing the practice of having a full -time Los
Angeles County Senior Criminalist assigned to SMPD's Forensic Lab. The contract
would be for a one year period and total cost would not exceed $168,032.
1 of 4
Background
The DNA analytic process is a rapidly evolving technology and as a result DNA
evidence has become a critically important investigative tool. On June 24, 2014
(attachment A), Council approved a pilot program to authorize the Santa Monica Police
Department to contract with the County Crime Lab for a Senior Criminalist assigned to
Santa Monica for a period no longer than one year.
Prior to the pilot, in accordance with a long- standing operational agreement with the Los
Angeles County Sheriff's Department, staff utilized the services of the County Crime
Lab and its criminalists for specific types of crime scene processing. Staff would submit
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 resulted in significant time lags in receiving the analyses results.
Because there was no mechanism to influence the order of evidence processing,
detectives would receive evidentiary analyses from the County Crime Lab in the order
the evidence was submitted. As a result, there were delays, as much as six months, in
the identification of suspects and in solving crimes.
These delays provided criminals with the opportunity to offend multiple times before
they were apprehended. In some cases, it took the County Crime Lab longer to provide
DNA analysis results than it would take a suspect to navigate through the criminal
justice system. As a result, criminal cases were 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.
Discussion
Under the pilot program, there has been a noticeable and quantifiable enhanced level of
efficiency in processing DNA evidence. During the first three months of the program,
there were three primary benchmarks identified to assess the success of the program
compared to the previous level of service provided by the County Crime Lab in the
traditional evidence submission process used throughout the County.
Benchmark One: The amount of time that a DNA sample is pending before being
assigned to a criminalist.
® DNA sample pending time was reduced from 19 days to 13 days for a 31.6%
2 of 4
decrease.
® This number includes backlogged samples that SMPD requested the City's
criminalist process which had been previously assigned to another criminalist
predating the pilot program, and thereby extended the pending time. This means
that with the backlog now cleared out, processing times should further improve.
Benchmark Two: The average amount of time to analyze a DNA sample once assigned
to a criminalist.
® DNA analysis was reduced from an average of 70 days to 47 days for a 32.9%
decrease in analysis time.
Benchmark Three: The average amount of processing time for a DNA sample, from
submission to completion.
® The complete process was reduced from an average of 95 days to 47 days for a
50.5% reduction.
In reviewing all the benchmarks for DNA evidence analysis, the City of Santa Monica
benefitted from an overall success during the first quarter of the pilot program. In
addition to improved processing efficiencies, cases which were deemed a high priority
by SMPD were immediately put into the analysis process without having to compete
with cases of high priority as deemed by other County and City entities. SMPD found
having a Senior Criminalist assigned specifically to handle the City's DNA evidence was
a valuable asset in the effort to enhance public safety.
Under the terms of this agreement, Los Angeles County would continue to assign one
full time Senior Criminalist to SMPD's Forensic Lab. This Criminalist would be
responsible for completing cases based on the priorities set by SMPD. In addition, the
Senior Criminalist would 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 would also allow for crime
scene field response services on an on -call basis by alternate experienced criminalists
in the event the City's assigned Senior Criminalist is unavailable.
3 of 4
Vendor /Consultant Selection
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 inconsistent analytic procedures and the lack of
connectedness with State databases.
Pursuant to section 2.24.080 (d) of the Municipal Code, competition for forensic DNA
analysis and services does not exist. Based on the findings from the pilot, staff has
determined that a dedicated Senior Criminalist from the Los Angeles County Crime Lab
assigned to handle only Santa Monica cases offers the most effective way to analyze
DNA evidence in an expedited manner. This enhanced efficiency will result in an
expedited ability to solve crime and prosecute criminals.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
The contract to be awarded to Los Angeles County is for an amount not to exceed
$168,032. Funds are available in the FY2015 -16 Proposed Biennial Budget in the Police
Department. The contract will be charged to account 01304.522850.
Prepared By: Nicole Dibling- Moore, Senior Administrative Analyst
Approved Forwarded to Council
4Ju*eIe4e#ab ooks, Chief o R M2015
Attachments:
A. June 24, 2014 Staff Report
4
Elaine M Polachek, Interim City MS✓r OOrl5
i
Reference:
Agreement No. 10059
(CCS)