TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Oscar Ortiz, Sheriff-Coroner
REPORT BY: Erin Corry, Staff Services Analyst II
SUBJECT: Amendment No. 2 to Agreement No. 210312B with Focal Forensics, LLC
RECOMMENDATION
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Approve and authorize Amendment No. 2 of Agreement No. 210312B with Focal Forensics, LLC, for media redaction services with no increase to the contract maximum. (Fiscal Impact: $89,620 Expense; General Fund; Budgeted; Discretionary)
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BACKGROUND
Law enforcement activities are under intense scrutiny by the public and in the media. Transparency is important to maintain and build upon community trust and foster those positive relationships. To achieve this transparency, the Sheriff’s Office implemented a body worn camera (BWC) program in May of 2016. BWCs are used to record interactions between deputy sheriffs/officers and the public during calls for service, traffic stops and use of force incidents, etc.
California Senate Bill No. 1421 (SB 1421), effective January 1, 2019, amended Penal Code section 832.7 to allow the release of records relating to use-of-force incidents, sexual assault and dishonesty. California Assembly Bill No. 748, effective July 1, 2019, added an additional layer of disclosure provisions, allowing audio and video for “critical incidents” to be released to the public. While these bills expand the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) requirements for release, they also necessitate protecting uninvolved witnesses or bystanders captured in videos. Therefore, redaction is required to preserve anonymity and protect the county from liability.
Video redaction is time-consuming, often requiring several hours of work for only a few minutes of footage. Due to a high volume of requests, the Sheriff’s Office compared the cost of in-house video redaction (staff time and a full-time employee) against third-party vendors, deciding to hire Focal Forensics in 2021. Focal Forensics specializes in law enforcement video and audio redaction services. While smaller workload redactions are still handled internally by specially trained Sheriff’s Office staff, larger cases are sent to Focal Forensics to meet the time constraints of CPRA requests.
Requested Action:
Approve and authorize Amendment No. 2 to Agreement No. 210312B to extend the agreement through June 30, 2029, and revise the compensation rates with no increase to the maximum compensation per fiscal year.
FISCAL IMPACT
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Is there a Fiscal Impact? |
Yes |
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Is it currently budgeted? |
Yes |
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Where is it budgeted? |
Sheriff’s Office Budget (Org 1360000) |
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Is it Mandatory or Discretionary? |
Discretionary |
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Discretionary Justification: |
SB 1421 requires Sheriff’s Office to protect the identities of witnesses in media requested through CPRA. To meet time constraints, the use of a third-party vendor is needed to process the current volume of CPRA requests. |
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Is the general fund affected? |
Yes |
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Future fiscal impact: |
Appropriations will be budgeted accordingly in future fiscal years. |
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Consequences if not approved: |
If not approved, Sheriff’s Office would have to explore other vendor options. |
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Additional Information: |
Strategic Initiative: Build Healthy, Connected Communities |
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: The proposed action is not a project as defined by 14 California Code of Regulations 15378 (State CEQA Guidelines) and therefore CEQA is not applicable.