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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20 - Voice Logging Recorder Reproducer System0 CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT June 17, 1999 June 28, 1999 Agenda Item # 20 TO: Honorable Mayor, Members of the City Council and City Manager FROM: Communications Supervisor SUBJECT: PURCHASE OF REPLACEMENT VOICE LOGGING RECORDERIREPRODUCER SYSTEM I. RECOMMENDATION: Award bid to purchase replacement voice logging recorder /reproducer system from "Stancil Corporation" for $29,794.41 from Police Department Budget Number 1250 -9300. 0 II. BACKGROUND The Police Department records all police radio traffic; emergency telephone conversations; telephone and face to face conversations initiated in the jail for safety and security reasons; and selected telephone instruments used to conduct business with the public (records, warrants, communications). Recording those incidents, managing their recordings and duplicating the recordings when requested requires sophisticated equipment. The Police Department has used various equipment for this purpose for the past twenty plus years. Laws tightly regulate the recordings and retention of those recordings. The Communications Supervisor routinely handles requests for recordings of telephone and radio communications from police investigators; the District Attorney's Office, the Public Defender's Office and other attorneys handling criminal and civil cases. By law we must maintain those recordings and have the capability of providing copies of specified recordings when requested. Our logging /recording system by legislation and demand has become an important and critical system in the Department. The Police Department has had discussions with various vendors to ensure that mission critical police computers systems are year 2000 (Y2K) compliant. During recent discussions with the vendor of our current voice logging recorder /reproducer system, Stancil Corporation (Stancil), it was determined the Recommendation for Voice Logging Recorder Page 2 system had a number of issues rendering it non - compliant with Y2K requirements. The Stancil system was initially thought to be Y21K compliant. After exhaustive tests by both the manufacturer and another customer, the system was found to be deficient. These deficiencies in both the operating system and hardware components were reported to be incapable of being repaired prior to the year 2000 by Stancil. Based on the Y21K deficiencies of the current system and the absolute necessity for the Police Department to record police radio broadcasts and emergency telephone calls, a replacement for the existing system is necessary. An RFP was developed and sent to Stancil, Dictaphone and Racal on June 7, 1999. These vendors were selected based on past experience and exposure to their products at recent public safety communications conferences. A notice was also published in the Daily Pilot inviting bids from interested parties. Only two vendors (Stancil and Dictaphone) responded to the RFP. Their bids were received at the Police Department prior to the deadline of June 14, 1999 at 1630 hours. The sealed bids from Stancil and Dictaphone were opened by me and witnessed by Electronic Specialist Al Dodds and Captain Riley at the Police Department on June 15, 1999 at 0755 hours with the following results: • Stancil $29,794.41 • Dictaphone $76,016.43 Al Dodds and I administered a thorough review of the proposals. The following discussion details the proposal review from both Stancil and Dictaphone. Although this purchase was not anticipated, nor budgeted in this fiscal year, Account #1250 -9300 has available funds due to the reallocation of money from budgeted items not acquired and savings realized in other purchases. 111, DISCUSSION A. STANCIL Stancil is headquartered in Santa Ana, California and has manufactured recording equipment for more than 50 years. Stancil submitted a bid of $29,794.41 to provide a voice logging recorder /reproducer system. The Police Department has used Stancil equipment for our recording needs for many years. The equipment has proven to be reliable . with responsive customer service and maintenance follow -up when required. Recommendation for Voice Logging Recorder Page 3 The "Audiolog Windows NT MAXI System" described in their response outlines the features and functionality that will meet our needs and specifications. This system can reside on our network, interface with the various telephone and radio systems (including the 800Mhz radio system) and has the DVD Archive Recording Storage capability recommended by our Computer System Manager John Veale. B. DICTAPHONE DICTAPHONE is headquartered in Stratford, CT (with operations in Santa Ana, CA) and has been manufacturing logging recording equipment since World War II. DICTAPHONE submitted a bid of $76,016.43 to provide a voice logging recorder /reproducer system. The Police Department used DICTAPHONE recorders in the past for instant access by dispatchers to radio and telephone conversations from consoles in the Dispatch Center. This equipment was also reliable with responsive customer service and maintenance follow -up when required. While the recording system described in DICTAPHONE's proposal to provide the "da Vinci" recording system complies with many of the specifications outlined, there are a number of items that do not meet specifications, are not included or would require additional cost. A PC workstation is required to monitor and operate the da Vinci system. The submitted bid is for a dual DDS -3 DAT drive and they offer the option of purchasing a DVD Jukebox at additional cost (amount not specified). The ability to automatically reboot would require custom integration. 800Mhz trunking radio recording and search by ID would require a Dictaphone Sales Engineer to determine their ability to implement a solution to this specification. Yearly maintenance costs are substantially higher. IV. CONCLUSION Based on a comprehensive investigation of the proposals and recent vendor demonstrations, I recommend awarding the bid to Stancil for providing a replacement voice logging recorder /reproducer system for the Police Department. Respectfully submitted, Shelley San Communications Supervisor Recommendation for Voice Logging Recorder Page 4 Approved by, Paul Henisey, Captain Acting Chief of Police 0 0