The Chief of Police for the Houston Police Department (HPD) requests City Council to approve an ordinance authorizing the application for and acceptance of the FY18 Technology Innovation for Public Safety (TIPS) Addressing Precipitous Increases in Crime grant in the amount of $500,000 through the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance. The TIPS Program provides grant funds directly to law enforcement agencies with innovative technology implementation projects that specifically address an increase in crime. The project period for this grant project is 24 months from October 1, 2018 to September 30, 2020. The City is not required to make a cash match or in-kind contribution.
HPD will use the grant funds to replace its existing, isolated data systems with an enterprise data warehouse structure. This solution involves four distinct components: a cloud–based data warehouse; robust data analytic software; limited hardware; and professional services to design and develop dashboards and establish connections to the warehouse. Front-end business analytic tools will facilitate analyses and information-sharing internally and with regional partners. Existing partners will benefit from enhanced access to data, while HPD works to further broaden the information-exchange network with new partners.
The ability to statistically analyze large volumes of data and identify commonalities among offenders and offenses is critical to addressing violent crime. HPD investigators and analysts need consistent real time access of data to effectively identify these commonalities in crime type, method, suspect description, weapons or other characteristics. Further, as the lead agency in the area, HPD needs to establish data systems and structures that contribute to the regional effort to combat violent crime, and must share information with law enforcement partners in a timely manner and research predictive analytics in efforts to anticipate shifts in crime trends.
The Houston Police Department also requests City Council (1) to authorize the Chief of Police or his designee to act as the City’s representative in the application process with the authority to apply for, accept and expend the grant funds as awarded and apply for, accept and expend all subsequent awards, if any, to extend the budget period, and (2) to authorize the Mayor to execute all related agreements with the approval of the City Attorney in connection with the grant not to exceed five years.