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Home My WebLink AboutCSS 2022-04-11 Item 1C - Update - Automated License Plate Reader from Flock SafetyCity of Tukwila Allan Ekberg, Mayor INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM TO: Community Services and Safety Committee FROM: Eric Dreyer, Chief of Police BY: Eric Lund, Deputy Chief of Police CC: Mayor Ekberg DATE: March 21, 2022 SUBJECT: Flock Safety ALPR ISSUE Nationwide, cities are experiencing a disturbing rise in homicides and violence. The FBI's 2020 Crime Report shows a 30% increase in homicides from 2019 to 2020, the largest single -year increase ever recorded. Staffing shortages statewide have contributed to the reduced ability to investigate these crimes. In King County, the number of shots fired incidents in 2021 was up 54% and the number of overall shooting victims was up 70% over the four-year average for 2017-2020. Non-fatal shootings are up 82% over the four-year average'. In Tukwila, burglaries increased 24% in 2020 from 2019. Auto Theft increased 15% in 2021 compared to 2020, which are totals we haven't seen since 2006. Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPR's) can help address these issues. BACKGROUND According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, when employed ethically and objectively, ALPRs are an effective tool for law enforcement, cutting down on the time required for investigations and acting as a force multiplier. Communities with ALPR systems report crime reductions of up to 70 percent. In some areas, that included a 60 percent reduction in in non- residential burglaries, 80 percent reduction in residential burglary, and a 40 percent reduction in robberies. ALPR does not include facial recognition capabilities and does not capture personally identifiable information (PII). ALPR cameras capture wholly -objective images of vehicles and license plates, providing a clear and actionable investigative lead. Currently, Tukwila PD is experiencing a staffing shortage. 7 positions have been frozen due to COVID. In addition, we also have four vacant budgeted Officer positions. Regionally, many officers have left Washington state. The staffing shortages have also impacted our major crimes unit, where many cases are not investigated at all due to not having any leads. ALPR technology multiplies the force. It captures and distributes objective evidence to the right user. 1 2021 Year End King County Violence Report 17 18 INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 2 DISCUSSION The Tukwila Police Department will be entering into an agreement with Flock Safety which manufactures Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR) in order to demonstrate their product for sixty days. Flock cameras are solar powered and communicate through cellular technology. They can either be mounted on existing city owned infrastructure, or on poles provided by Flock. Flock handles installation, maintenance, and repair of the cameras. This will not create extra work for the Public Works Division. Flock personnel have worked together with the Public Works and the Police Department, including the crime analyst to determine the best locations for 26 cameras within the city. The deployment plan is still in draft stages. ALPR simply takes photographs of vehicles driving by cameras. The cameras capture make, model, and license plate number. Even vehicles that do not have license plates can be identified. Witnesses who have a vague description of a vehicle, or a partial license plate is not extremely useful to help us find leads to investigate. It is not connected to registration data or 3rd party databases (Carfax, etc). ALPRs are not used for traffic enforcement and the data is not stored beyond 30 days. Cameras send real-time alerts to officers when stolen or wanted vehicles enter Tukwila. They also provide objective evidence after a crime has been committed. Several detectives in our Major Crimes Unit have stated that this system would have been extremely helpful in identifying witnesses or suspects in recent murder and shooting investigations. Transparency to the community is important for the police department. Flock includes a "Transparency Portal" that allows the department to audit searches. All searches must include a case number when looking for evidence, and a crime has already been committed. The PD will be engaged with the community and distribute information that these cameras are being installed and to answer any questions the community might have. The Police Department and Flock will initially enter into an agreement for a 60 -day trial period at zero cost. Near the end of 60 -day trial period, the PD will update this committee with statistics, success stories, and the effectiveness of the system. Flock representatives are also available for a Q&A session at future meeting if this committee is interested. All agencies that utilize Flock nationwide have access to each other's data. Several other south King County police agencies are very interested in this product as well to help reduce the increase in violent crime. Tukwila would have access to their information, allowing for a regional approach. FINANCIAL IMPACT There is no cost for the 60 -day demonstration. However, upon proof of concept with the demonstration period, the Tukwila Police Department will be returning to committee to ask the Council to approve licensing for the remainder of the year, which the police department will absorb in the current PD budget. As we enter the new budget -cycle, the PD would be requesting through the budget process to add the service as a standing expenditure within the budget. The cost per camera is $2,500 per camera per year. With the 26 -camera deployment https://tukwilawa.sharepoint.com/sites/mayorsoffice/cc/Council Agenda Items/Police/Flock info memo.docx INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 3 plan that is still being solidified, the total cost for year 1 will be $75,000. The recurring cost for the following years will be $68,500/year. RECOMMENDATION At this time, this is for information only. The PD will ask council to approve the contract after the trial period is complete, upon proof of concept. ATTACHMENTS Flock Safety Falcon Flex Overview Sheet 2021 Year End King County Firearm Violence Report Tukwila PD policy #437 — Automated License Plate Readers https://tukwilawa.sharepoint.com/sites/mayorsoffice/cc/Council Agenda Items/Police/Flock info memo.docx 19 20 Hock safety Flock Safety Falcon Flex TM Location -flexible license plate recognition camera designed for fast, easy deployment Leverage the same Vehicle Fingerprint TM technology available on Flock Safety's stationary LPR with the Falcon Flex, an infrastructure -free, location -flexible license plate reader camera. Simple, mobile installation makes this vehicle detection device ideal for your ever-changing investigative needs. Less time to install means faster leads and increased case clearance. Evidence capture simplifiea Combine the power of Vehicle Fingerprint recognition with lightweight, adaptable mounting options, and a complementary LTE service is ideal for temporary installation virtually anywhere. J 1 Falcon License Plate Reader Camera J Unlimited LTE data service + software licenses J 1 portable mount with varying sized band clamps J 1 Charger for internal battery Smarter reads for actionable leads Not every vehicle has a plate. Search by license plates and unique vehicle characteristics including: Build type Make Color License plate state Missing and covered plates Bumper stickers Decals Roof racks & more 21 Capture more. Recharge less. The Falcon Flex camera captures 30,000 license plates and Vehicle Fingerprint attributes of vehicles traveling up to 100 MPH at a maximum distance of 90 feet on a single battery charge. Activate from the palm of your hand On-site installation is made quick and easy with the mobile installation app for all your Android and iOS devices, including a DIY installation walkthrough and QR reader for device linking. Sophisticated software outsmarts crime Like all Flock Safety detection devices, the Falcon Flex license plate reader camera integrates with Flock Safety's suite of software solutions. With unlimited user licenses, every member of your agency can conduct complex searches, receive Hot List alerts, access 1B+ license place reads each month via our nationwide network of footage sharing and more. Trustworthy technology that delivers Plate reads on a single battery charge Stolen plate and vehicle hits every hour More accurate than legacy ALPR Adjust Your TImstrome COO stow.. 22 Camera Specifications Design Dimensions: 8.75" x 3" Weight: 3 lbs IP65 Waterproof Power 14Ah Battery - Rechargeable Data 16GB local storage, -2 weeks Motion Passive Infrared Motion Detection Connectivity Embedded Cellular LTE Connection Cellular service provider depends on area Production Designed & manufactured in the U.S. Night Vision 850nm Custom IR Array Cloud Storage 30 days storage (Amazon Web Services) Accessible via secure website Images can be downloaded and stored by department Camera Performance Motion NCIC, AMBER Alert & Custom Notifications Average of 10-15 seconds Includes time, location, plate, and vehicle image Includes state -specific alerts based on image Processing Power 1.4GHz 64-bit quad -core CPU Image Capture Up to 100 ft from vehicles Up to 2 lanes of traffic per camera Date and time with camera location Plate (state, partial, paper, and none) Vehicle details (Make, type, color, etc.) Pricing $3,000/camera per year Field Technician maintenance is not included; If a camera is lost, stolen, or damaged, a new device can be purchased discounted price of $1500. ff'ock safety www.flocksafety.com 1 866-901-1781 Page 1 of 2 *sr 2021 Year End King County Firearm Violence Report King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office - Crime Strategies Unit paocsu@kingcounty.gov January 2022 Total Shootings and Shots Fired Incidents The numbers of firearm homicide victims, non-fatal shooting victims, and total shots fired incidents for 2021 are listed below. This data primarily comes from the 8 jurisdictions in King County (below) that have historically had over 90% of firearm violence, but also includes data from many of the smaller jurisdictions in King County. This does not include suicides, confirmed self-inflicted shootings, or officer involved shootings. Firearm Homicide Victims 72 Nonfatal Shooting Victims Geographic Distribution Shootings in King County are not evenly distributed by jurisdiction. We currently collect data from over 20 agencies, but a majority of the data comes from 8 agencies: Seattle, Auburn, Des Moines, Federal. Way, Kent, Renton, Tukwila, and the King County Sheriff's Office (including unincorporated King County and 16 contract cities).These 8 agencies account for roughly 79% of King County's population. In 2021, over 62% of the total shots fired incidents and 59% of the shooting victims (both firearm homicide victims and non-fatal shooting victims) were from agencies outside of Seattle. Both of these are slightly higher than the four-year average for 2017-2020 in which 60% of all shots fired incidents and 58% of all shooting victims were from agencies outside of Seattle. 24 • SPD • KCSO • KENTPD • FWPD • RENPD ADBPD —'_'"SPD • D.'SPD • wsP • BLVPD • KIRKPD • NPPD Shots Fired by Agency 2021 in isor C Se a Bel Iepvue Sammamish • °� Merced • ra dam° Island o # ° Issaquah Shure ••g Nc itcli • Se • c 8ci. Des Moines. Q° Fee 44)(a),• Covington • • Tacoma !2 1 Place Bonney Lake Shopaline •• Bothell °.1":01,1 Kirkland Re▪ dmond cf. 0▪ 0• ° 0 •. • Made with 1 1 Page 2 of 2 Historical Comparisons The graphs below depict the total number of shots fired incidents broken down by type for 2017-2021 and the total number of non-fatal and fatal shooting victims from 2017-2021. The total number of shots fired incidents in 2021 (1405) was up around 54% and the number of overall shooting victims (460) was up 70% over the four- year average for 2017-2020. More specifically, the number of fatal shooting victims (88) was up 54% while the number of nonfatal shooting victims (372) was up 82% over the four-year average.There have been 17 more fatal shooting victims and 102 more non-fatal shooting victims in 2021 as compared to 2020. Number and Type of Shots Fired Incidents 500 Number of Shooting Victims 1200 800 400 1 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 • Shots Fired • Shots Property • Shots Injury • Shots Homicide 400 300 200 100 — 0 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 • Non -Fatal Shooting Victims • Fatal Shooting Victims Shooting Victim Demographics Of the 460 shooting victims in 2021, 85% were male (390); 28% were between the ages of 18-24 (133); and 81% were people of color (379). Similar to previous years, 48% of the shooting victims, both fatal and non-fatal, were Black or African American (225) of which 27% (61) were males 18-24 years old. Outer Circle = General Population Victim Age Race/Ethnicity Inner Circle = Shooting Victims • Black or African American •Non -Hispanic White • Hispanic or Latino • Asian and Pacific Islander • Native American and other • Two or more race 160 120 80 40 0 ILI. oti1 �,\,� �,q o4? o t? o0� o�� N, 1, 4 < �� J Made with 26 Policy 437 Tukwila Police Department Tukwila PD Policy Manual Automated License Plate Readers 437.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) technology, also known as License Plate Recognition, provides automated detection of license plates. ALPR is used by the Tukwila Police Department to convert data associated with vehicle license plates for official law enforcement purposes, including identifying stolen or wanted vehicles, stolen license plates and missing persons. ALPRs may also be used to gather information related to active warrants, homeland security, electronic surveillance, suspect interdiction and stolen property recovery. 437.2 ADMINISTRATION OF ALPR DATA All installation and maintenance of ALPR equipment, as well as ALPR data retention and access, shall be managed by the Professional Standards Unit Division Commander. The Professional Standards Unit Division Commander will assign personnel under his/her command to administer the day-to-day operation of the ALPR equipment and data. 437.3 ALPR OPERATION Use of an ALPR is restricted to the purposes outlined below. Department personnel shall not use, or allow others to use, the equipment or database records for any unauthorized purpose. (a) An ALPR shall only be used for official and legitimate law enforcement business. (b) An ALPR may be used in conjunction with any patrol operation or official department investigation. Reasonable suspicion or probable cause is not required before using an ALPR. (c) While an ALPR may be used to canvass license plates around any crime scene, particular consideration should be given to using ALPR-equipped cars to canvass areas around homicides, shootings and other major incidents. Partial license plates reported during major crimes should be entered into the ALPR system in an attempt to identify suspect vehicles. (d) No member of this department shall operate ALPR equipment, or access ALPR data, without first completing department -approved training. (e) If practicable, the officer should verify an ALPR response through the Central Computerized Enforcement Service System (ACCESS) before taking enforcement action that is based solely upon an ALPR alert. (f) No ALPR operator may retrieve ACCESS data unless otherwise authorized to do so. 437.4 ALPR DATA COLLECTION AND RETENTION All data and images gathered by an ALPR are for the official use of the Tukwila Police Department, and because such data may contain confidential ACCESS information, it is not open to public Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2022/03/01, All Rights Reserved. Published with permission by Tukwila Police Department Automated License Plate Readers - 1 27 28 Tukwila Police Department Tukwila PD Policy Manual Automated License Plate Readers review. ALPR information gathered and retained by this department may be used and shared with prosecutors or others only as permitted by law. The Professional Standards Unit Division Commander is responsible to ensure proper collection and retention of ALPR data and for transferring ALPR data stored in department vehicles to the department server on a regular basis, not to exceed 30 days between transfers. All ALPR data downloaded to the server shall be stored according to the Washington State Law Enforcement Records Retention Schedule and thereafter may be purged unless it has become, or it is reasonable to believe it will become, evidence in a criminal or civil action, or is subject to a lawful action to produce records. In such circumstances the applicable data should be downloaded from the server onto portable media and booked into evidence. 437.5 ACCOUNTABILITY AND SAFEGUARDS All saved data will be closely safeguarded and protected by both procedural and technological means. The Tukwila Police Department will observe the following safeguards regarding access to and use of stored data: (a) All non -law enforcement requests for access to stored ALPR data shall be referred to the Senior Manager and processed in accordance with applicable law. (b) All ALPR data downloaded to the mobile workstation and server shall be accessible only through a login/password-protected system capable of documenting all access of information by name, date and time. (c) Persons approved to access ALPR data under these guidelines are permitted to access the data for legitimate law enforcement purposes only, such as when the data relate to a specific criminal investigation or department -related civil or administrative action. (d) Such ALPR data may be released to other authorized and verified law enforcement officials and agencies at any time for legitimate law enforcement purposes. (e) ALPR system audits should be conducted on a regular basis. Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2022/03/01, All Rights Reserved. Published with permission by Tukwila Police Department Automated License Plate Readers - 2 Tukwila PD Policy Manual Attachments Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2022/03/01, All Rights Reserved. Published with permission by Tukwila Police Department Attachments - 3 29 30 Attachment Tukwila PD Policy Manual Washington State Law Enforcement Records Retention Schedule.pdf Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2022/03/01, All Rights Reserved. Published with permission by Tukwila Police Department Washington State Law Enforcement Records Retention Schedule.pdf - 4 SSS Office of the Secretary of State Washington State Archives Law Enforcement Records Retention Schedule Version 7.2 (January 2017) This schedule applies to: Law Enforcement Agencies Scope of records retention schedule This records retention schedule covers the public records of local law enforcement agencies relating to the functions of law enforcement, criminal case investigation, and the management of the agency's assets and human resources. It is to be used in conjunction with the Local Government Common Records Retention Schedule (CORE) and other approved schedules that relate to the functions of the agency. All current approved records retention schedules can be accessed online at: http://www.sos.wa.gov/archives/RecordsRetentionSchedules.aspx. Disposition of public records Public records covered by records series within this records retention schedule must be retained for the minimum retention period as specified in this schedule. Washington State Archives strongly recommends the disposition of public records at the end of their minimum retention period for the efficient and effective management of local resources. Public records designated as Archival (Permanent Retention), Permanent, or Non -Archival with a retention period of "Life of the Agency" must not be destroyed. Records designated as Archival (Appraisal Required) or Potentially Archival must be appraised by the Washington State Archives before disposition. Public records must not be destroyed if they are subject to ongoing or reasonably anticipated litigation. Such public records must be managed in accordance with the agency's policies and procedures for legal holds. Public records must not be destroyed if they are subject to an existing public records request in accordance with chapter 42.56 RCW. Such public records must be managed in accordance with the agency's policies and procedures for public records requests. In addition to the minimum retention requirements specified in this schedule, there may be additional (longer) retention requirements mandated by federal, state and/or local statute, grant agreement, and/or other contractual obligations. Revocation of previously issued records retention schedules All previously approved disposition authorities for records that are covered by this retention schedule are revoked, including those listed in all general and agency unique retention schedules. Local government agencies must take measures to ensure that the retention and disposition of public records is in accordance with current, approved records retention schedules. Authority This records retention schedule was approved by the Local Records Committee in accordance with RCW 40.14.070 on January 26, 2017. Signature on File For the State Auditor: Cindy Evans Signature on File Signature on File For the Attorney General: Matt Kernutt The State Archivist: Steve Excell Page 1 of 68