Public Safety Committee
December 12, 2023
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Jestin D. Johnson FROM: Darren Allison
City Administrator Interim Chief of Police
SUBJECT: FirstWatch Data Sharing Agreement DATE: November 61, 2023
City Administrator Approval Date:
RECOMMENDATION
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution Authorizing The City Administrator To Enter Into A Data Sharing Agreement With The Northern California Regional Intelligence Center (NCRIC) And FirstWatch Solutions, Inc., For The Oakland Police Department To Exchange Computer Aided Dispatch Information With State And Local Law Enforcement Agencies.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This proposed Data Sharing Agreement sets forth the coordination of information between the Oakland Police Department, FirstWatch Solutions Inc., and the NCRIC (Project Sponsor) regarding the Bay Area Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) Regional Data Sharing Project (Funding Agency) (see Attachment A for data sharing project letter). This Data Sharing Agreement must be accepted before Oakland Police Department (OPD) can join the regional data sharing project. Upon approval, the OPD would start sharing Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) data as part of a regional public health and safety system cooperative. This agreement covers a period of three years: January 2024 through December 2026.
REASON FOR URGENCY
This agreement must be signed by the end of 2023 to ensure that OPD is able to join this data sharing cooperative free of charge. Once the agreement is signed, OPD will receive the work equivalent of $123,891 to cover the cost of work to implement the necessary connections to join the data sharing cooperative. Entrance into the system after 2023 would require full payment from OPD.
BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
The California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES), through the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI), created a system for information collection and dissemination of information regarding Chemical Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive (CBRNE) threat detection, Jestin Johnson (Nov 16, 2023 16:25 PST)
Nov 16, 2023
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: FirstWatch Data Sharing Agreement
Date: November 16, 2023 Page 2
Public Safety Committee
December 12, 2023
including automated alert and warning system. The system was also created for tracking potential opioid overdoses. The benefits to partner agencies, as stated by NCRIC, are as follows:
• Encourage cooperative partnerships between public health and safety sectors. • Increased situational awareness for each participating team & also across the regional Bay Area.
• Automated Early Warnings provided to public safety stakeholders re: notifications of potentially concerning CBRNE events, as well as to public health for spikes in fatal or nonfatal overdoses.
• Improve data‐driven decisions through the automated analysis of CAD incident data, as well as overdose frequency and Narcan administration. • Analysis of Overdose Map data that supplies context to overdose response strategies' effectiveness.
• Assisting in the coordinated response to natural disasters, such as fires, floods, and earthquakes.
The goal of this project is to aggregate CAD data from across the region. NCRIC will then analyze the regional data and make inferences between local activity reports and local first responder’s actions. This information will be shared with affected jurisdictions for a regional approach to public health/safety. This allows agencies to forecast resources to deal with public health/safety issues as they are identified throughout the region.
Upon approval of the agreement, the City of Oakland would be in control of what data we share and what data we are able to observe in the system to comply with the city surveillance ordinance.
ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
This policy action advances the citywide priorities of holistic community safety and responsive, trustworthy government. Entering into this service agreement allows OPD to join a regional data-sharing project. Sharing CAD data has several benefits, as detailed above in the background section. Sharing this data also helps build a more resilient community, including considerations for non-English speaking residents, persons with access and functional needs, and the traditionally underserved.
Failure to approve this proposed agreement will prevent the City of Oakland from being able to receive the benefit of the regional system at no cost to the city for three years.
Approval of the agreement will allow the city to benefit from this system at a cost savings of $123,891.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no cost to the city to enter into this agreement and use the FirstWatch System and NCRIC analysis services. The funding for this project is paid for three years (January 2024 – December 2026) with UASI monies ($123,891). At the end of the three-year period, The City of Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: FirstWatch Data Sharing Agreement
Date: November 16, 2023 Page 3
Public Safety Committee
December 12, 2023
Oakland can disconnect the data feed at its own discretion, at no cost, or continue the sharing agreement at a cost of approximately $22,000 a year for years 4 and 5, for a total cost of $44,000. If OPD decides to continue participation, funds will be requested through the bi-annual budgetary process.
PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST
The public, all cities, special districts, non-governmental agencies, and counties within the Bay Area UASI footprint are invited to participate in the UASI Grant planning and proposals process.
Panel members are organized in each region area to represent the East, West, North, and South Bay Hubs to review all submitted grant proposals. The panel recommendations are forwarded to the UASI Advisory Groups, who review and vet each proposal. Final recommendations for funding are then sent to the UASI Approval Authority for final approval.
UASI Approval Authority Meeting dates and content are posted on the Bay Area UASI website:
http://www.bayareauasi.org/
.
COORDINATION
OPD consulted with the City Attorneys office and FirstWatch Solutions Inc. in preparation for this agenda report.
SUSTAINABLE OPPORTUNITIES
Economic: Regional Public Health/Safety Data Sharing and Collaboration enhances the City of Oakland’s effort to provide a safe climate in which economic development and economic resiliency can flourish.
Environmental: All protection, prevention, mitigation, response, and recovery activities prioritize environmental and historic preservation to the greatest extent possible.
Race & Equity: The UASI regional collaboration explicitly incorporates the development of sustainable solutions to help build a more resilient community, including considerations for non- English speaking residents, persons with access and functional needs, and the traditionally underserved.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: FirstWatch Data Sharing Agreement
Date: November 16, 2023 Page 4
Public Safety Committee
December 12, 2023
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution Authorizing The City Administrator To Enter Into A Data Sharing Agreement With The Northern California Regional Intelligence Center (NCRIC) And FirstWatch Solutions, Inc., For The Oakland Police Department To Exchange Computer Aided Dispatch Information With State And Local Law Enforcement Agencies.
For questions regarding this report, please contact Dr. Carlo Beckman, Project Manager II, at 510-238-2068.
Reviewed by:
Tracey Jones, Police Services Manager I
OPD, Research, and Planning
Prepared by:
Officer David Pullen
Oakland Police Department
Dr. Carlo Beckman, Project Manager II
Oakland Police Department
Attachments (1):
(A): FirstWatch Data Sharing letter