Title:
Title
Agreement: Police Canine Selection and Training (Two-Thirds Vote Required)
End
FileID
File ID: 2018-01659
Location
Location: Citywide
Recommendation:
Recommendation
Pass a Motion authorizing the City Manager, or the City Manager’s designee, to: 1) suspend competitive bidding in the best interest of the City; and 2) execute an agreement with S&L Brewer Enterprises DBA Law Dogs for canine selection, and training in an amount not to exceed $230,475 through July 31, 2021, with two optional one-year renewals.
Contact: Mark Greenlee, Police Captain, Metro Division, (916) 808-0854; Brenda Delgadillo, Police Administrative Manager, (916) 808-0858, Police Department.
Body
Presenter: None
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-Agreement
Description/Analysis
Issue Detail: The Sacramento Police Department (SPD) has specific canine (K9) selection and training requirements. One such requirement is that all K9 trainers possess qualifications and experience as required by the California Police Officer Standard Recommendations and Training (POST) guidelines for each canine.
To ensure continuity of services, maintain State mandated training recommendations, and to reduce liability with the use of the Sacramento Police canines, it is in the best interest of the City of Sacramento to suspend competitive bidding and enter into a contract with S&L Brewer Enterprises DBA Law Dogs in an amount not to exceed $230,475 through June 30, 2021.
Policy Considerations: The recommendations contained in this report are consistent with: 1) Sacramento City Code section 3.56.090 which requires City Council approval for agreements where the expenditure equals or is greater than $100,000; and 2) Sacramento City Code section 3.56.230(c), Exceptions to Competitive Bidding upon a two-thirds vote of the City Council.
Economic Impacts: None
Environmental Considerations: None
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA): The actions being considered do not constitute a “project” within the meaning of the CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(a) as it has no potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
Sustainability: Not applicable
Commission/Committee Action: Not applicable
Rationale for Recommendation: POST establishes and maintains statewide standards for training law enforcement and ensures compliance with those standards. POST recommends canine teams pass a certification test after their initial training and prior to going into service, and that they pass the same test on a yearly basis. POST also recommends that K9 trainers receive a minimum of 4 hours of formal training with the department’s trainer every week, or alternatively, a minimum of 16 hours a month. Proficient training ensures proper, effective, and safe operations while reducing risk of liability.
Canine teams have one of the highest exposures for liability due to the nature of the work.
Preventative risk management through adequate training can reduce, if not entirely eliminate, liability exposure. The training Law Dogs provides allows our K9 teams to far exceed POST standards and diminish our liability.
Law Dogs was the only trainer to submit a bid and exceed POST qualifications and experience requirements for the job when the original bid (# B12111121003) was solicited in 2012. Since then, Law Dogs has raised the bar on the training and performance of the SPD’s K9 Unit.
The SPD K9 Unit prides itself on the control of their K9s which exceeds any canine unit in the area that does not train with Law Dogs. Control of K9s is critical to law enforcement priorities as well as reducing liability. Whether on the streets, at a competition, or school demonstration, SPD’s handlers are confident that, in large part due to Law Dog’s training, they can direct SPD’s K9s to stay in a position until they are told to move, call them to a heel when necessary, recall them from a deployment on a suspect, etc. Law Dogs training has not only proven to be effective in assisting the SPD with law enforcement priorities but has also assisted the SPD in being successful at numerous K9 competitions.
Law Dogs has been cross-training the SPD’s new K9 teams in narcotics or explosives detection, narcotics, article/evidence searching, and tracking since July of 2010. This cross-training has equipped the SPD’s K9 teams with valuable skills that have, in turn, enabled the SPD to accomplish such law enforcement priorities such as recovering weapons, narcotics, and evidence discarded by suspects in the field. Law Dogs is the local K9 trainer that trains in article/evidence searching.
Continuity in training and trainers provides for consistency in performance. Law Dogs has a long-proven track record of success and staff believes that if the SPD did not continue training with Law Dogs, the quality of the SPD’s canine training would diminish, which would result in poorly trained K9s and handlers, which in turn could lead to increased liability and safety risks.
Therefore, staff finds it is in the best interest of the City to suspend competitive bidding
because there are no other providers of the department-wide standard for canine hand selection and training. If the SPD cannot secure canine training services, it will have to suspend its use of canines for law enforcement activities.
In addition, staff conducted an extensive search of K9 trainers that specialize in hand selecting new canines with an extensive return policy and was unable to identify any that reside in the local area.
Financial Considerations: The SPD anticipates spending up to $230,475 on K9 selection, purchase and training through July 31, 2021 with two optional one-year renewals for this agreement. This estimate is based on prior year expenses with anticipated cost increases and the replacement of retiring canines. This is a partially unanticipated expense for Fiscal Year 2018/19, as the Risk Management Division previously paid for the ongoing canine training to mitigate risk; about 62% of total expenses. Due to audit findings from the City Auditor’s Office, Risk Management informed the SPD on May 25, 2018 that it would no longer pay for this as it is an on-going department expense and therefore not an appropriate use of extraordinary loss funds.
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Law Dogs is not an LBE. The minimum LBE participation requirement has been waived because staff is recommending that the City suspend competitive bidding.