200 S. Anaheim Blvd.
Suite #620
Anaheim, CA 92805
Tel: (714) 765-5110
Fax: (714) 765-5288
www.anaheim.net
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
City of Anaheim
FINANCE DEPARTMENT
DATE: MARCH 19, 2024
FROM: FINANCE DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT: APPROVAL TO PURCHASE DATABASE ANALYTICS
SOFTWARE SUBSCRIPTION
ATTACHMENT (Y/N): NO ITEM # 06
GOVERNMENT CODE § 84308 APPLIES: YES
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council, by Motion:
1) Waive the bidding and publication requirements of Council Policy 4.0 and award a purchase order to SITE Intelligence Group, Bethesda, MD, for a two-year database analytics software subscription, in the amount of $178,500 plus applicable tax (to be reimbursed by the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) Grant Program); and
2) Authorize the Purchasing Agent, or their designee, to execute documents, as necessary, related to the purchase order.
DISCUSSION:
The City of Anaheim, on behalf of the Anaheim/Santa Ana Urban Area utilizes UASI grant funds to procure goods and services for the member agencies. This purchase is on behalf of the Orange County Intelligence Assessment Center (OCIAC) and the City of Anaheim’s role is merely fiduciary to authorize the use of UASI funding. OCIAC is a recognized fusion center responsible for providing an integrated, multi-disciplined, information sharing network to collect, analyze, and disseminate information on criminal risks and safety threats for public safety and public sector stakeholders to protect residents, visitors, and critical infrastructure while ensuring civil rights and civil liberties are recognized. To accomplish our mission, we are in part tasked with processing and vetting information on crime and terrorism, including the threat of Domestic Violent Extremists (DVEs), and monitoring for other indicators of online violent behavior.
The OCIAC has compared open-source and reporting platforms from vendors in the online analytical space and found SITE Intelligence Groups specializes in threat monitoring and analysis related to the homeland. Obtaining this analytical tool would benefit the OCIAC because it monitors the online activities of domestic and international terrorists and their organizations via open-source media. It provides products, context, and reference resources to further understand tactics, techniques, and procedures of terrorist organizations and the offenders of those organizations that ultimately have a Approval to Purchase a Database Analytics Software Subscription March 19, 2024
direct impact on our area of operation and/or Orange County. SITE tracks propaganda, communications, and online content that is produced and distributed to followers and potential threat actors in the homeland by offenders in furtherance of their ideologies.
Research conducted by the OCIAC examining other vendors has not found any other vendor that provides information equivalent to SITE or has their track record.
The information and content SITE provides is invaluable to the mission of counterterrorism and enhances our ability to obtain, process, and validate information in a timely manner. SITE is able to accomplish this while ensuring the privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties of Americans. This procurement will support the region’s ongoing Homeland Security mission and enable OCIAC to develop or enhance investigations related to a broad spectrum of threats, including DVEs. SITE is a proprietary software program that uses exclusive algorithms to uniquely sort, match, and link multiple open- source databases. SITE also provides translations and trend analysis on material released by leading individuals or organized groups involved in threatening to commit harm on a local, national, and/or global landscape. The software created by SITE can only be purchased through the SITE Intelligence Group, and is the only software program of its kind that meets the specialized needs of OCIAC. Based on OCIAC’s vetting, it has determined SITE would fulfill the performance gap of receiving timely, accurate and valuable threats/information/intelligence to our homeland and Orange County and strongly recommends its purchase.
IMPACT ON BUDGET:
Sufficient funds are available in the Police Department’s restricted Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) grant budget in Fiscal Year 2023/24. There is no local match requirement.
Respectfully submitted, Concurred by,
Jered Rakosky Rick P. Armendariz
Purchasing Agent Chief of Police