03.09 Lead Forensic Specialist 6-30-191. SUBJECT
Second Amendment to Agreement No. 6447 with the County of Orange for a Lead Forensic
Specialist in the Police Department through June 30, 2019.
2. SUMMARY
This amendment authorizes the continuation of services of a dedicated Lead Forensic Specialist to
conduct fingerprint examinations in the amount of $132,171 through June 30, 2019.
3. RECOMMENDATION
Approve Amendment with the County of Orange in an amount not to exceed $132,171 through
June 30, 2019 and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute the agreement on behalf of the
City.
4. FISCAL IMPACT
Funds are budgeted and available to cover the cost of forensic services as follows:
100.4034.51780.00000 General Fund - Other Contractual Services $126,352
100.4031.51670.00000 General Fund — Other Professional & Consulting $5,819
5. STRATEGIC PLAN GOAL(S)
la. Provide for a Safe Community: Provide staffing and resources to deliver services that ensure
public safety.
6. GENERAL PLAN IMPLEMENTATION
Public Safety Goal 6.0 Provide public safety services of the highest quality.
Policy 6.1: Provide the Police Department with adequate personnel, equipment and state- of -the-
art technology to effectively combat crime, meet existing and projected service demands, and
provide crime prevention programs. These resources should be provided prior to anticipated
needs.
7. DISCUSSION and BACKGROUND
The Police Department's Forensic Services Specialist position remained vacant due to lack of
qualified candidates. The position provides vital services to the department and requires a unique
skill set and qualifications not easily attained. To process fingerprint examinations, the department
relied on the assistance of the Sheriffs Department; however, a delay in processing evidence
resulted in a four -month backlog of fingerprint analysis.
The City entered into a Consultant Services Agreement with the Orange County Sheriffs
Department (OCSD) for a Latent Print Examiner in January 2017. As the sole latent examiner
assigned to the Orange Police Department (OPD), the examiner offers opinions with any hits on
our latent prints. Once an opinion is offered, the prints are verified from two additional Lead
Forensic Specialists with the county lab. This is an additional cost that OPD was not being
charged. For FY 18 -19, there is a 10% cost increase due to the reclassification of the position from
"Specialist" to "Lead." The cost of the "Lead" position is less than the city's Forensic Services
Supervisor position. The reclassification will enable our contract employee to respond and work
major crime scenes when needed and to off -set the cost for the additional verifications on latent
prints.
As it relates to property crimes, OPD had a backlog of 130 property crime cases in 2017. As of
April 18, 2018, the number of backlog cases is down to 61 cases, a 53% decrease. Each print
requires individual analysis and verification which is time consuming. With continued forensic
services, the Department anticipates fulfilling the backlog of fingerprint analysis by June 30, 2019.
In addition, the table below represents the number of California Identification (Cal -ID) system hits
with above average numbers in 2018. The Cal -ID system is maintained by the Department of
Justice and retains fingerprint files and identifying latent fingerprints which are checked against
the criminal database.
Year
Number of CAD Hits
2018
48
2017
3
2016
27
Based on their high level of service, the Department is requesting the continuation of latent print
services with the County of Orange. Funding for the fingerprint examiner will come from an
ITEM 2 6/12/18
existing, vacant, non -sworn position - Forensic Services Specialist. The contract term is July 1,
2018, through June 30, 2019, with a contract amount not to exceed $132,171.
8. ATTACHMENTS
• Agreement between the City of Orange and County of Orange
ITEM 3 6/12/18