PSCS 2022 Annual ReportSTUDY SESSION ITEM NO. 1
City of La Quinta
CITY COUNCIL MEETING' December 6, 2022
STAFF REPORT
AGENDA TITLE: RECEIVE AND FILE ANNUAL REPORT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
CAMERA SYSTEM
RECOMMENDATION
Discuss, receive and file annual report of Public Safety Camera System.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
• The Public Safety Camera System (PSCS) Policies and Procedures
requires the City Manager or other authorized designee to conduct an
annual review of the system.
• Phase 1 of the PSCS was activated on September 20, 2021.
• As of November 30, 2022, 33 people have authorized access to the
system.
FISCAL IMPACT - None
BACKGROUND/ANALYSIS
The annual review by the City Manager or other authorized designee is required
per the PSCS Policies and Procedures approved by Council on March 2, 2021.
Accordingly, City Staff and Lt. Andy Martinez have prepared this report to
provide Council with an overview of the cost, benefits, and effectiveness of the
system.
The PSCS, Phase 1, includes 105 cameras located in major street intersections
and City property. The system was activated on September 20, 2021. The total
cost of equipment, software and maintenance for this phase is $1,281,313.37.
Once the PSCS was activated, City staff and police gradually introduced the
system to authorized users. Kris Gunterson, Traffic Management Analyst, is the
City's assigned system administrator, and in-house trainer. As of November 30,
2022, the system has a total of 33 authorized users. Of those, 28 are Police
staff, four City staff and one City contract traffic engineer (Attachment 1). All
authorized users are required to sign a Public Safety Camera System
Authorized User Non -Disclosure Agreement and an Addendum To Non -
Disclosure Agreement. Police and City staff are actively using the system to
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monitor streets and City property, as well as investigate traffic accidents and
incidents in the community.
Access points to the system have gradually been increased. When the system
went live, there was only one workstation at City Hall. This was to allow for
one-on-one training during the first couple of months, then a second station
was added at the City's police substation. On March 29, 2022, two additional
access points were added at the Sherriff's Thermal station. One is assigned to
the crime analyst and another one to the La Quinta Sherriff division. The
Thermal access points have experienced some connectivity issues which staff is
working to address.
Per the annual review provided by Lt. Andy Martinez (Attachment 2), the
system is performing well. Law Enforcement has used the system to review
collisions and investigate reported crimes. In a criminal or traffic case, the
PSCS has provided useful information to investigators, however, the system
doesn't provide high quality night images. The system has allowed the Sheriff
to pursue and solve several crimes, and per his report, deputies "using this
system feel that the PSCS has become an invaluable and important tool to
effectively investigate crime within La Quinta."
Some additional facts about the system:
• No businesses have opted out of the PSCS.
• Currently the City of Indian Wells is the only city that has opted into
the system.
• La Quinta Police uses:
o Traffic Collision Investigations
o Investigative Reported Crimes
• Special events managed:
0 2 Tennis Tournaments
o Ironman 2021 and 2022
• Coachella & Stagecoach Festivals
Prepared by: Martha Mendez, Public Safety Manager and Lt. Andy Martinez
Approved by: Jon McMillen, City Manager
Attachments: 1. PSCS Infographic
2. PSCS Annual Review by Lt. Martinez
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PryPUBLIC; SAFE IT
CAMERA SYSTEM
ANNUAL DFDOPT
TOTAL NUMBER OF PEOPLE WITH ACCESS TO SYSTEM 53
28POLICE STAFF AUTHORIZED TO
USE THE CAMERA SYSTEM
4 CITY STAFF AUTHORIZED TO
USE THE CAMERA SYSTEM
I CITY TRAFFIC ENGINEER CONSULTANT
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ti ►� r 10
PUBLIC RECORDS REQUESTS RECEIVED
16 RELATED TO CAR ACCIDENTS
1 INITIATED BY INSURANCE COMPANIES
6 LAW FIRMS
18 INITIATED BY RESIDENTS
M.
5 TIMES SYSTEM USED RELATED
1TO A POLICE CASE
34TIMES SYSTEM USED RELATED
TO A CRIMINAL CASE
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ATTACHMENT 2
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RIVERSIDE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT
CHAD BIANCO, SHERIFF
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TO: Jon McMillen, City Manager DATE: November 16, 2022
FROM: Lt. Andy Martinez #3590
SUBJECT: Public Camera Safety System Annual Review
City Manager McMillen,
This memorandum is written as an annual analysis and review of the Public Safety Camera System (PSCS)
from the perspective of law enforcement and specifically addressing the five components of the PSCS
Policy, section titled Video Monitoring Audit.
A. Analysis of the cost, benefit, and effectiveness of the system.
As this system exists, it performs well as intended to capture wide area views and, in some cases,
narrowly focused views. This PSCS has allowed law enforcement the opportunity to review collisions,
identify collision factors and parties at fault. Law enforcement has also been able to access and view
historical footage of reported crimes to confirm facts, identify exact times of occurrence, number of
people involved, vehicles used in the commission of crimes, direction of travel, and in some cases,
obtain license plates.
However, due to this PSCS inability to produce high quality images during hours of darkness, most
success is observed in cases occurring in daylight and/or when the need to identify persons involved is
not a factor. As an example, when reviewing the PSCS because of a collision not classified as a Hit and
Run, the persons involved are identified and the sole purpose of the PSCS review is to identify or confirm
the vehicular movements preceding the collision, identify the cause and party at fault. In the case of a
criminal investigation of a crime that occurred in darkness the PSCS is almost never able to produce
images with legible license plates and at times, images where the color, make or model of vehicles
involved can be discerned.
This limitation presents a technological gap between the PSCS performance in darkness and law
enforcements expectations or criminal investigative needs, which can be closed with supplemental
technology designed to capture license plates.
B. Any public safety issues that were effectively addressed.
Crime, in a general sense, is a public safety issue that continues to be effectively addressed using the
PSCS. As crimes go unsolved, the more opportunity suspects have to reoffend. Overall, deputies
actively using this system feel that the PSCS has become an invaluable and important tool to effectively
investigate crime within La Quinta. 129
C. Any significant prosecutions that resulted.
The PSCS is used by police to investigate collisions and reported crimes. Depending on the traffic
investigator and when fault is unquestioned, it is not uncommon for at fault drivers to be issued a
citation for the violation that caused the collision while on scene. Since the deployment of the PSCS, La
Quinta Traffic Investigators now, in most cases, delay the issuance of a traffic violation until after
footage has been reviewed. Traffic citations are then mailed to parties at fault.
In 2022, video has been exported for an estimated 51 cases. There may be many more instances where
video was viewed and citations issued, but not exported. Video was exported an estimated 34 times for
criminal cases.
In any criminal or traffic case, video evidence is rarely the only form of evidence considered or obtained
to establish sufficient probable cause for arrest or prosecution. But often, when no other evidence is
available, the PSCS has provided additional information to further each investigation to a point of
arrest or closure due to the lack of further evidence.
In February of 2022, Deputies were investigating a Hit and Run Collision, where the suspect fled on
foot, leaving his vehicle behind in which large amounts of narcotics were found. The PSCS was used to
track the suspect, who was then observed boarding another vehicle. That vehicle was identified
and in conjunction with a drug task force, the suspect was arrested and additional narcotics were
recovered.
In April of 2022, Deputies were investigating a window smash commercial burglary and used the PSCS to
obtain video of the incident and the suspects direction of travel. On video, the suspect was seen
entering gas station, where additional video was obtained that led to his identification and arrest.
In May of 2022, Deputies were investigating an armed robbery. Using the PSCS, deputies learned the
suspect vehicle was bearing stolen license plates. Utilizing a wide network of shared Automated License
Plate Readers (ALPR) and unique vehicle characteristics, Deputies were able to find more instances of
the vehicle bearing a correct license plate, which identified the vehicle to have been stolen in Arizona.
Weeks later, after significant effort to locate the vehicle and suspects, deputies in an adjacent area were
alerted to a different stolen vehicle by an ALPR. The vehicle led deputies in a pursuit which concluded in
Indio and during this investigation, it was found that the suspect had been shooting at the pursuing
deputies. This suspect was also identified as the suspect of the La Quinta armed robbery.
In June of 2022, Deputies were investigating the retail theft of baby formula. Loss prevention
agents informed deputies that these suspects, who they and many other law enforcement agencies
haven't been able to identify, were responsible for many more thefts of baby formula from multiple
stores across the southwestern United States at an estimated loss of over $150k. Using the PSCS,
deputies were able to identify the suspect vehicle and after much coordination with multiple agencies,
were able to identify the suspects. Both suspects were arrested in a simultaneous operation in Los
Angeles County and San Bernardino County, coordinated by the La Quinta Special Enforcement Team.
In September of 2022, Deputies were investigating a series of purse thefts occurring in the business
district. As a result of these thefts, most victims were also victims of Identity Theft and in one case, a
vehicle was purchased with stolen identity. The PSCS was used to identify the suspects vehicle, which
then lead to the identification and arrest of the suspect.
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In November of 2022, a retail theft of many tools occurred. Deputies utilized the PSCS to identify the
suspect vehicle and suspects. Follow-up was conducted in Imperial County, which lead to the arrest of
both offenders.
Most recently, in November of 2022, the PSCS was used to help identify a suspect of a violent attack.
The video viewed allowed deputies the ability to recognize the suspect from prior contacts and
further the investigation which led to an arrest.
D. Any systemic operational or administrative issues that were identified, including those related to
training, discipline, or policy.
During the onset and initial training of users, we recognized that advanced navigation of the software
was difficult for infrequent users. As a result, we limited access and training to a few Community Service
Officers, Deputies, Investigators, and a Crime Analyst whose functions often necessitated access.
During the initial deployment, a single workstation was established within the Police substation, which
made it difficult for some users to access. Additional remote workstations were set up within the La
Quinta operations office in the Thermal Station and a dedicated terminal for the Crime Analyst. These
remote workstations utilize a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to access the PSCS secure server, which I am
told is often unstable, resulting in the inability to connect or a slow connection.
E. Retention of Longitudinal Data to be able to evaluate trends, costs, apprehensions, on a long-term
basis.
To assess to the retention period for the purpose police investigations, a review of 2022 export data was
conducted. Most video exports occurred on or near the date of an incident and one instance was found
where video 121 days old was exported. On average, the age of video found relevant to traffic and
criminal investigations was 9 days. However, as the PSCS network grows and users become more
accustomed to searching the video, these values are likely to change.
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