Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Carlos G. Bolanos, Sheriff
Subject: Waiver of the Request for Proposal Process and Acceptance of an Agreement with C3 AI for Intelligence Analysis Investigations Solution Software
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution authorizing:
A) A waiver of the Request for Proposal process; and
B) The execution of an agreement with C3 AI to provide the Intelligence Analysis Application, a criminal investigative platform and analytics software solution, for the term of May 1, 2022 through April 30, 2027, in an aggregate amount not to exceed $2,500,000; and
C) The Sheriff or the Sheriff’s designee to execute contract amendments and minor modifications not to exceed $25,000 (in aggregate) and/or modify the contract term and/or services.
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BACKGROUND:
For several years, the Sheriff’s Office (SO) has pursued procurement of a software solution intended to aggregate numerous disparate data sources into a single platform. Such software would allow the SO to perform more efficient, timely, and accurate investigative analysis in pursuit of stronger intelligence-led policing.
On January 24, 2022, the Sheriff’s Office entered into pilot agreement #30000-22-D00250 with C3 AI for the contractor to configure and demonstrate the capabilities of their C3 AI Intelligence Analysis Application (C3 Application) for criminal investigations. The pilot successfully integrated four of the SO’s core but distinct data source systems in the pre-production C3 Application. C3 AI’s dashboard screen shows historical crime trends and statistics, as well as a data vision screen that allows users to search, filter, and visualize consolidated crime data and associated connections for criminal investigations. The pilot demonstrated how C3 AI can build customized artificial intelligence (AI) software to allow the SO tools and analytics to help build a unified, standardized view of criminal investigatory data, conduct criminal investigations, and assess its data faster.
DISCUSSION:
Upon execution of this five-year agreement, C3 AI will expand the scope of data integration from four to twelve source systems, enhance screens and dashboards, and develop additional AI tools to assist the SO with criminal investigative analysis.
The Sheriff’s Office investigated several top-tier software solution products from other companies prior to developing the pilot with C3 AI, including a pilot program with another vendor and product demonstrations with three additional companies. Compared to its competitors, C3 AI provides effective data mining and management at a significantly lower annual subscription cost. C3 AI’s patented Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) functionality has the unique capability to produce automated insights from the SO’s aggregate source data, increasing the likelihood of discovering investigative leads. Unlike its competitors, C3 AI offers end-to-end AI lifecycle management services, which will allow the SO to update its data model configurations during the term of the agreement. C3 AI’s product is thus uniquely malleable as investigative priorities and policing practices evolve. The SO has conducted a thorough assessment of alternative products and providers for this type of product and has determined that no vendors offer a superior product and that competitors’ prices are significantly higher than that of C3 AI. For these reasons, staff recommends that the Board of Supervisors find that the best interest of the County would be served without the necessity of competitive bidding for this scope of work and that the request for proposal process should be waived.
The resolution and agreement have been reviewed and approved as to form by County Attorney.
The Information Services Department has also reviewed and approved the agreement.
The Procurement Department has approved the SO’s request to enter an agreement with a five-year base term because the contract is in the County’s best interest based on price and quality of C3 AI’s services.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The term of the agreement is May 1, 2022 through April 30, 2027, in an aggregate amount not to exceed $2,500,000; and authorizes the Sheriff or the Sheriff’s designee to execute contract amendments and minor modifications not to exceed $25,000. Funds for this agreement have been included in the FY 2021-22 Adopted Budget and will be included in future budgets for the term of the contract. There is no new Net County Cost associated with this agreement.