For City Council Meeting July 25, 2023
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
APPROVAL: Arron Brown, Acting City Manager
FROM: Mark P. Kling, Chief of Police
Title
Request City Council to (1) Approve the Purchase of Upgraded Digital Analysis Hardware and an Annual Software Subscription in the Amount of $128,836.18 with Cellebrite, Inc.; and (2) Authorize the Acting City Manager or his Designee to Execute all Documents.
Body
BACKGROUND
The Police Department currently uses Cellebrite to recover, decode and analyze digital evidence from mobile devices. Cellebrite is the industry leader in providing digital forensic extraction and analysis hardware and software solutions for law enforcement applications. The capture and analysis of digital data from mobile devices is required to successfully identify and present evidence of criminal activity in investigations and associated prosecutions. While Cellebrite is a useful tool, the need to upgrade our current subscription has become necessary to overcome the advances in security measures on mobile devices.
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION
The Rialto Police Department is experiencing an increased amount of digital evidence during investigations and currently does not have sufficient tools to unlock, extract all available data, nor analyze many of these devices. As of today, RPD is collecting a multitude of mobile devices, laptops, iOS devices, and more that are deemed possible points of evidence. However, without the proper tools within the Department, RPD is not able to collect all potential evidence from these devices at a crime scene nor throughout the investigation process. Investigators are forced to ask favors from San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and other neighboring agencies to extract evidence from our devices. Because Rialto’s devices are not their priority, the wait time has been months before these favors are fulfilled, causing an increase to the amount of time it takes to complete investigations. The inability to access critical data in a timely manner has interfered with evidence collection and subsequent prosecution of criminal offenders.
The existing Cellebrite subscription provides basic and limited extraction and analysis capabilities, and the hardware extraction devices are obsolete and no longer serviceable. The proposed premium Cellebrite subscription offers cost and time saving benefits, specifically the ability to lawfully unlock, decrypt, and extract critical digital evidence from the widest range of iOS and Android devices. Premium also offers investigators the ability to obtain valuable evidentiary data such as GPS history, photos, videos, social media data, instant messaging applications, texts, and other valuable cloud-based content, to include deleted data. Additionally, the premium subscription includes valuable training to certify employees as court-qualified Cellebrite users.
Without upgrading our current package with Cellebrite Inc. investigators will continue to be at a disadvantage when it comes to digital evidence collection. Being able to only access a very small portion of the digital evidence is like trying to read a book that is missing the majority of the pages. In order for investigators to tell the whole story it is imperative for them to have the tools to collect all of the evidence available.
In April of 2023, staff worked with the City’s Purchasing Division and determined that this purchase is acceptable as specified under Rialto Municipal Code 2.48.280 - Sole source procurement by the City.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
The proposed action does not meet the definition of a project as defined by Section 15378 California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). A “Project” means the whole of an action, which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, and excludes the following:
1) Continuing administrative or maintenance activities, such as purchases for supplies, personnel-related actions, general policy and procedure making, and
2) Organizational or administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or in direct physical changes in the environment.
GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY
The City of Rialto has outlined key goals and objects relating to public safety. The purchase of this technology is in consistence with meeting these objectives.
Goal 5-8: Provide effective and comprehensive policing services that meet the safety needs of Rialto.
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney has reviewed and supports this staff report.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Funding in the amount of $102,368.18, is available in Capital Account Number 33006290-53001, and $26,468 in Patrol Account Number 10106281-52011, for the total subscription amount of $128,836.18, with Cellebrite, Inc.
Staff requests approval to transfer available funding from Capital Account number 33006290-53001 in the amount of $102,368.18 to General Fund account number 10106281-52011 to fully fund the purchase.
Per Rialto Municipal Code Section: 2.48.145 a vendor disclosure form is attached.
Licensing
This action does not trigger a requirement for a business license.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Approve the purchase of upgraded digital analysis hardware and an annual software subscription in the amount of $128,836.18 with Cellebrite, Inc.; and
2. Authorize the Acting City Manager, or his designee, to execute all documents.