Agenda Item # ___
Columbus Consolidated Government
Council Meeting
6/23/2015
Agenda Report # ____
TO: Mayor and Council
SUBJECT: LeadsOnline
INITIATED BY: Columbus Office of Crime Prevention
Recommendation: Approval is requested to enter into a one-year contract with
Columbus Police Department to award funding for Crime Prevention initiatives.
Background: Columbus Office of Crime Prevention has agreed to recommend the
funding of $18,158.00 to Columbus Police Department in effort to utilize the
LeadsOnline system to aid in apprehending burglary suspects.
Analysis: Funds will be used to pay for the LeadsOnline system.
Financial Considerations: These funds are appropriated from the Other Local
Option Sales Tax, Crime Prevention Program and do not require a match.
Recommendations/ Actions: Approve the resolution authorizing the City Manager
to enter into a one-year contract with Columbus Police Department to provide
funding for the LeadsOnline system.
A RESOLUTION
NO. _____
A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF A ONE-YEAR CONTRACT WITH COLUMBUS
POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR $18,158.00 FOR THE PURPOSE OF FUNDING THE INITIATIVES OF
DARE TO BE GREAT.
WHEREAS, Columbus Police Department has the LeadsOnline system to aid in the
apprehension of criminal suspects and,
WHEREAS, the Columbus Office of Crime Prevention has authorized funding under
the Crime Prevention Program for this project in the amount of $18,158.00 to
the LeadsOnline System.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE COUNCIL OF COLUMBUS, GEORGIA, HEREBY RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
The Mayor is hereby authorized to enter into a one-year contract
through the Columbus Office of Crime Prevention with Columbus Police Department
for $18,158.00 for funding the LeadsOnline system. Funds are budgeted in the
FY16 budget: Other Local Option Sales Tax, Crime Prevention Program.
___________
Introduced at a regular meeting of the Council of Columbus, Georgia, held
the 23rd day of June, 2015 and adopted at said meeting by the affirmative vote
of ____________ members of said Council.
Councilor Allen voting________________.
Councilor Baker voting________________.
Councilor Barnes voting_______________.
Councilor Buck voting_____________.
Councilor Davis voting________________.
Councilor Henderson voting____________.
Councilor Huff voting_________________.
Councilor Pugh voting_________________.
Councilor Thomas voting______________.
Councilor Woodson voting_____________.
__________________________________ ______________________________________
TINY B. WASHINGTON TERESA
PIKE TOMLINSON
CLERK
MAYOR
4
Local Assistance Grant Agreement
Grant Program Name: Columbus Office of Crime Prevention
Fiscal Agent: Muscogee County
Administering Agency: Columbus Office of Crime Prevention
Grant Recipient: Columbus Police Department/ LeadsOnline
Amount: $18,158.00
Budget: Equipment ? $18,158.00
Total - $18,158.00
Program Contact Information
Name: Chief Ricky Boren Title: Chief of Police
Address: 2305 15th St. #3, Columbus, Georgia 31906
Phone #: 706-575-1483
Project Description
The LeadsOnline system addresses each of the following objectives for this
proposal:
A) The search boundaries are extended from Muscogee County to the entire country
B) Photographs of digitally recorded items can be attached to aid in
investigations
C) LeadsOnline can be implemented to conduct automatic searches daily using a
date application
D) Stolen items will be entered into the system at the point of sale and will
compliment the upcoming RMS digital paperless system of reporting being brought
online in 2015 (The combination of the RMS and LeadsOnline would provide
extremely quick tracking of stolen items for which ALL officers in the
department could be provided access to track through this system while on-scene)
I, Ricky Boren the duly authorized representative of the above named Grant
Recipient, do hereby agree to the following terms that outline the requirements
of Columbus, Georgia for organizations/agencies receiving funds from the
Columbus Office of Crime Prevention. I have been given the opportunity to ask
questions regarding these terms and fully understand my organization?s
obligations incurred by accepting this grant. I understand that prior to the
disbursements of any funds the following criteria must be met:
1. The above named Grant Recipient represents the beneficiaries of the Grant
and the above named individual is authorized to act in the name of Columbus
Police Department as the Grant Recipient.
2. The subject matter of this Agreement is primarily the provision of services
in the form of equipment to help law enforcement apprehend thieves.
3. The Grant Recipient shall immediately notify the Agency if any of their
service providers are arrested. At the time Grant Recipient learns that one of
its service providers has been arrested, then Grant Recipient shall cease to
use such service provider in connection with programs funded by this Grant.
4. In the initial report submitted to the Administering Agency, Grant Recipient
shall provide: (a) the name of the chairman and the secretary of the advisory
committee; (b) the times and dates that the Grant programs are available ?
essentially a schedule of services; (c) the number of participants in the
program; (d) Description of the process used to identify individuals for which
services will be provided; (e) provide specifics on the evaluation process
that addresses how the process will work, how the statistical data will be
gathered, how it will be analyzed.
5. Grant Recipient shall provide an accounting system that shall separate Grant
Funds from other funds. The accounting system shall also separate Grant
related expenses from other expenses.
6. Grant Recipient shall submit to Agency a monthly report on the progress of
the programs. The monthly report shall provide statistical data that supports
the projects goals of reducing the recidivism rates of the participants within
the program.
7. Grant Recipient shall use Grant Funds strictly for the purposes outlined in
the Grant. Any changes to the programs must be submitted in writing to
Columbus Office of Crime Prevention for approval or the funding may be
jeopardized.
8. Grant Recipient shall identify the members of its Board of Directors which
will assume liability if the CCG determines the funds have been misused.
9. Monthly report must be submitted to Seth Brown electronically by the 10th
day of the month. Once the report is approved it will be submitted to the
Office of Crime Prevention Board for evaluation.
10. The Grant Recipient shall use generally accepted accounting principles
(?GAAP?) to account for all financial transactions used to substantiate the
fulfillment of this Grant.
11. The Grant Recipient shall maintain all records of Grant-related financial
transactions for a minimum of three years after the completion of the Grant and
to make all records available for inspection and fully cooperate with any audit
or investigation requested or undertaken by the CCG, the State Auditor, the
Internal Auditor for Columbus, Georgia, or any other officials of the state or
federal government who have the authority to conduct audits.
12. The Grant Recipient shall comply at all times with the provisions of
Article I, Section II, and Paragraph VII of the Georgia Constitution regarding
the prohibition against Sectarian Aid.
13. The Grant Recipient hereby releases Columbus, Georgia from any liability
whatsoever and Grant Recipient hereby agrees to indemnify Columbus, Georgia
against any and all claims for damages, bodily injury or death arising from any
of the activities contemplated by this Agreement raised by any person. Grant
Recipient shall provide to Columbus, Georgia a certificate of insurance that
shows general liability coverage in the amount of at least $1,000,000 per
occurrence and which shows that Columbus, Georgia is named as an additional
insured.
14. All services must be provided by properly certified or licensed personal.
15. In the event there is any discrepancy in the language of the project
description and these numbered paragraphs, the language in the numbered
paragraphs shall control.
________________________________________________________________________
Signature of City Manager, Isaiah
Hugley Date
________________________________________________________________________
Approved as to form by City
Attorney
Date
________________________________________________________________________
Signature of Director of Finance, Pam
Hodge
Date
________________________________________________________________________
Signature of Grant Recipient Representative, Chief Ricky
Boren Date
PROJECT SUMMARY / NARRATIVE
Organization: Columbus Police Department ? 510 10th Street, Columbus GA
The Columbus Police Department is the PRIMARY law enforcement for
Muscogee County and consists of 525 Law Enforcement Officers. CPD is
responsible for receiving, dispatching, responding, and handling all 911 calls
where the officers of this department enforce all laws (State & City Ordinance)
and document each situation as necessary. Follow-Up investigators (Bureau of
Investigative Services) conduct the follow-up investigations of cases that are
not able to be handled by the initial responders (Patrol) and investigate said
cases to their completion.
CPD also is responsible for targeted approaches to deterrence /
apprehension of criminals involved in specific types of crimes (I.E. Burglaries
& Thefts). Special Units are assigned to these varying tasks as they arise and
are identified.
Project Description:
The Burglary & Theft Unit of the Columbus Police Department currently
investigates ALL residential and business burglaries throughout Muscogee County
and also conducts follow-up investigations of Entering Auto and large felony
theft crimes with substantial leads. Each year property crimes escalate leading
to a larger quantity of the Columbus population being victimized with larger
quantities of their hard-earned property being taken. While the Burglary &
Theft unit conducts tracking of second-hand items that are sold through pawn
shops locally, however, our current system does not extend beyond the Muscogee
County area. The current software utilized by the Columbus Police Department in
tracking stolen items is also antiquated in many ways regarding the lack of
search engine features necessary to successfully locate stolen items, identify
suspects selling the items, and recovering the stolen items for return to the
victims. Due to the criminals of this community successfully liquidating stolen
items, property crime continues to increase annually. As a means of increasing
the identification and prosecution of suspects by utilizing a more efficient /
nationwide software, the ability of liquidating stolen items will be reduced
and therefore property crime will decrease and become less profitable for a
criminal.
After conducting research pertaining to potential stolen property tracking
systems throughout the country, the most efficient and largest, in regards to
coverage area, is LeadsOnline. This system is Internet based and provides a
host of options with an extensive and user-friendly search engine for law
enforcement to utilize.
The LeadsOnline system addresses each of the following objectives for this
proposal:
A) The search boundaries are extended from Muscogee County to the entire country
B) Photographs of digitally recorded items can be attached to aid in
investigations
C) LeadsOnline can be implemented to conduct automatic searches daily using a
date application
D) Stolen items will be entered into the system at the point of sale and will
compliment the upcoming RMS digital paperless system of reporting being brought
online in 2015 (The combination of the RMS and LeadsOnline would provide
extremely quick tracking of stolen items for which ALL officers in the
department could be provided access to track through this system while on-scene)
This system will aid in the investigation and tracking / recovery of stolen
jewelry that currently gets sold to scrap gold dealers also. Based on
investigations conducted where jewelry has been stolen and later tracked to
scrap gold dealers and pawn shops, a recurring problem has been the destruction
or sell of these items without photographic evidence to verify ownership. With
the utilization of LeadsOnline, photographs from the 2nd hand gold / silver /
precious metal dealers of purchased jewelry will be uploaded for review by the
Burglary & Theft Unit if necessary. This will aid in verifying jewelry that was
stolen and linking said stolen jewelry to a suspect even after its sell or
destruction.
The Burglary & Theft Unit also currently handles any investigations regarding
scrap metal and dealers of scrap metal. The current system requires us to
contact these dealers individually when we have a report of stolen metal and
rely on their cooperation. By obtaining this system, ALL scrap metal items sold
in the state of Georgia will be accessible immediately through LeadsOnline
(I.E. Photographs of suspect vehicles, items purchased prior to destruction,
Seller Photographs, Seller Information, etc.) With the utilization of this
system to obtain photographic evidence of the suspects and stolen scrap metal
items, more suspects will be apprehended and scrap metal theft will also
decrease as information is spread that we are tracking the scrap metal dealers
more efficiently.
While using a 30 day free trial of LeadsOnline, the Burglary & Theft unit was
able to successfully track and locate numerous stolen items dating back to 2014
that were sold or pawned in Phenix City, Alabama that our current system would
not have located. The LeadsOnline system also located several reported stolen
items within 24 hours of the reported theft and the current pawnshop software
has yet to report, track, and identify the stolen items.
Once LeadsOnline is obtained for use by the Columbus Police Department, ALL
officers will have access to the system for the search of stolen items, while
the current system is only accessed by the Pawn Shop Detail Detective. Upon the
implementation of the software, all pawnshops within Columbus, Georgia will
also be advised to use this system for 2nd hand item purchases at that time.
LeadsOnline provides free point-of-sale software linking with the pawnshops
current software, therefore, there are no issues with any pawnshops ability to
utilize this point-of-sale tracking system.
LeadsOnline is currently used by over 3000 police agencies across the country
with great success. The software price is based on the size of each department
for which the cost for the Columbus Police Department would be $18,158.00
annually.
It is critical that Columbus, Georgia obtain a technological edge on criminals
during this time frame of increased property crime. With the edge gained by
obtaining this significantly improved, largely expanded and user-friendly
software to track stolen property, the ability to liquidate stolen items will
decrease and property crime will as well.
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