September 23, 2025
Library and Community Services
DATE: September 23, 2025
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Sam Vaughn, ONS and CCRP Deputy Director
Michael Romero, CCRP Program Manager
Joan Binalinbing, Associate Administrative Analyst
Subject: Purchase of Hand and Mobile Encrypted Radios from Motorola Solutions, Inc. for the ROCK Program
FINANCIAL IMPACT: The proposed $43,406 expenditure for the one-time purchase of 6 encrypted hand radios and 2 mobile radios is included within the fiscal year 2025-2026 budget,
Community Crisis Response Program (Account String:
01401113 - 400201).
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
None.
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
The Community Crisis Response Program’s field
responders need radios that provide direct access to the police communication dispatch center for communication
and responder safety. The radios need to comply with the California Department of Justice (CA DOJ) directive
mandating that all public law enforcement agencies
encrypt their radios.
AGENDA
REPORT
September 23, 2025
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
APPROVE the purchase of six (6) hand encrypted radios
and two (2) mobile radios from Motorola Solutions, in an amount not to exceed $43,406.21 for the Community
Crisis Response Program – Community Services (Sam
Vaughn 510-620-5404/Michael Romero 510-620-
6791/Joan Binalinbing 510-620-6531).
DISCUSSION:
The Community Crisis Response Program (CCRP) will function as an additional response related to non-violent and non-medical, low-acuity calls. The safety and welfare of CCRP Community Intervention Specialists, Reach Out with Compassion and Kindness (ROCK) responders, is extremely important for management. ROCK responders will be delivering crisis services to the Richmond community after appropriate direction from Richmond’s Communication Dispatch center (Dispatch) while on Richmond Fire’s channel. The program will be comprised of extensively trained mobile community responders that can respond in a respectful and non-stigmatizing manner. They will be trained in proper usage of the radios and communication with Dispatch.
ROCK Responders understand that calls may become escalated and may be exposed to hostile individuals and unsafe situations. Other situations can also include the safety and the wellbeing of the community members needing additional support from Richmond Police, Fire, or EMS. For safety purposes, ROCK responders are assigned individual portable radios that provide direct access to Dispatch. These radios are a necessary tool not just for receiving calls for a ROCK response, but for responder and community member safety. The radios will allow calls for immediate help on behalf of the community members in crisis.
In 2023, the Richmond Police Department, which includes Dispatch, and the Richmond Fire Department began transitioning to new encrypted radios provided by Motorola Solutions to comply with the California Department of Justice (CA DOJ) directive mandating that all public law enforcement agencies encrypt their radio telecommunications by 2023. Due to this, CCRP's Community Intervention Specialists need to use equipment that is compatible with the encryption and radio frequencies Dispatch uses. Therefore, staff are requesting approval to purchase radios to retain communication with Dispatch. The price of each radio includes programming to the required specifications and radio channels, as well as encryption.
The initial selection of Motorola Solutions Inc. to be the sole provider of radio equipment was made by the East Bay Regional Communications Systems Authority (EBRCSA), of which the City of Richmond is a member, to ensure continued interoperability across participating agencies (Attachment 1). Motorola Solutions is the only provider which can supply the encryption for the Motorola system used by Community Crisis Response and the Richmond Police Department’s Dispatch.
September 23, 2025
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Sole Source
Attachment 2 – Motorola Quote