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Approve a 5-year agreement with a 5-year option to extend for a not to exceed amount of $1,774,968 with Axon Enterprises, Inc. for the period of July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2034 for a digital evidence management system; Delegate authority to the County Administrator to execute the agreement and any subsequent amendments, pending County Counsel concurrence, up to an annual aggregate of $74,999; and Authorize the District Attorney or her designee to execute contract amendments which are technical and administrative in nature
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Published Notice Required? Yes ____ No __X_
Public Hearing Required? Yes ____ No __X_
DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION:
The District Attorney recommends that the Board of Supervisors:
1. Approve a 5-year agreement with a 5-year option to extend for a not to exceed amount of $1,774,968 with Axon Enterprises, Inc. for the period of July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2034 for a digital evidence management system; and
2. Delegate authority to the County Administrator to execute the agreement and any subsequent amendments, pending County Counsel concurrence, up to an annual aggregate of $74,999; and
3. Authorize the District Attorney or her designee to execute contract amendments which are technical and administrative in nature.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
The District Attorney recommends that the Board approve an agreement with Axon Enterprises, Inc. to implement Axon Justice Premier, a cloud-based digital evidence management system built to refine the process of discovering, disclosing, and storing digital evidence files which in turn will eliminate many of the time-consuming tasks that DA Investigators and Investigative Assistants perform to manage digital evidence for the attorneys in the District Attorney’s Office.
Axon Justice Premier provides unlimited digital evidence storage. Currently, District Attorney staff make use of Evidence.com, a cloud-based platform that provides a centralized system for storing body camera footage, photos, and other digital evidence with limited storage capacity. The storage limit prevents digital evidence on CDs, DVDs, Blu-Ray discs, and flash drives that are many GB in size from be uploaded and stored in Evidence.com. The storage limit means that Investigative Assistants must create physical discovery packages for defense attorneys, where they spend much time duplicating evidence from a CD, DVD, Blu-Ray disc, or flash drive to another CD, DVD, Blu-Ray disc, or flash drive. Unlimited digital evidence storage will eliminate physical discovery packages as prosecuting attorneys and defense attorneys will access evidence such as photos, dispatch audio, inmate phone calls, body camera video, police interviews, surveillance footage, and cell phone data through a secure portal that requires no downloading of files in order to view them. The department projects an annual savings of $9,000 on CD/DVD/Blu-Ray and flash drive expense.
Axon Justice Premier includes investigation and trial preparation features. Axon Justice Premier uses AI to create transcripts of all uploaded audio and video files. This will eliminate third-party transcription costs, which are currently estimated at $50,000 annually. This will also save Misdemeanor Unit attorneys time when preparing for trial. Currently these attorneys must prepare for multiple trials each week, which includes requesting and editing transcripts for each case that is conformed for trial, a slow and time-consuming process. Having all audio and video evidence already transcribed will make quick work of this trial prep task. Axon Justice Premier also provides redaction tools that auto detect faces and personal identifying information which will significantly decrease the amount of time Bureau of Investigation staff use to make redactions for Public Records Act requests and court exhibits. Currently, a 15-minute video can take up to four hours to make redactions as staff must go through the video frame by frame to make sure all personal identifying information is masked. This will save on potential overtime costs for the department.
Axon Justice Premier also includes evidence navigation features. Third-Party Playback exports all types of video files into .mp4 format, eliminating the need to download or locate the proprietary player for the file format. Currently many of the videos received as evidence such as closed-circuit security videos require unique video players that are not supported by DoIT and require Investigative Assistants to screen record each of these videos into formats that are supported by DoIT.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The total cost for this agreement over ten years is $1,774,968. The cost for year one is $153,412, for year two is $160,618, with an increase 4% annually for years three through five. After year five, the annual cost is fixed at $187,900 for years six through ten. Axon has agreed to waive $50,000 in one-time deployment and on-site support costs. The addition of Axon Premier will save the District Attorney’s Office and estimated $64,000 annually, $55,000 in transcription costs and $9,000 in CD/DVD and flash drive costs. The District Attorney has also identified time savings that may result in overtime savings, but that value is not known at this time. Funding for the first year is included in the District Attorney’s FY2024/25 Supplemental Budget with no general fund impact.
ALTERNATIVES:
The Board of Supervisors could choose not to approve this agreement. However, this alternative is not recommended as Axon Premier provides significant upgrades to the management of evidence that saves time and money for the Department.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
The Department of Information Technology has reviewed and approved the agreement as to content. County Counsel has approved the agreement as to form. The County Risk Manager has approved the insurance provision and Axon’s related insurance certificates.
CAO RECOMMENDATION:
APPROVE DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION