Okaloosa County BOCC — June 21, 2016 — FY16 Ed Byrne JAG Agenda Package

2016 JAG Local Byrne Grant Application – Okaloosa County Board of Commissioners PROJECT ABSTRACT APPLICANT NAME: Okaloosa County Board of Commissioners IMPLEMENT AGENCY: Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) PROJECT TITLE: Electronic Monitoring and Officer Safety Enhancements PROJECT GOALS: 1. Enhance ability of OCSO Narcotics Unit personnel, via the purchase of updated covert transmitters and antennas, to conduct undercover operations and better investigate/infiltrate mid to upper level drug distributors and drug trafficking organizations, and to better operate amongst the public/criminals without being detected. 2. Enhance ability of OCSO Property Crimes and/or Street Crimes Unit personnel, via the purchase of a complement of specialized electronic equipment, to operate independently of the narcotics unit and conduct undercover operations related to the theft, possession, and/or sale of stolen property, and better investigate/infiltrate lower “street” level drug distributors. 3. Enhance ability of OCSO Uniform Patrol personnel, via the purchase of individual ballistic shields and rifle plates, to more safely respond to high-risk incidents involving armed suspects. STRATEGIES: This program consists of product research, equipment purchases, and in-house/vendor training. The first phase of the project will be researching specialized electronic equipment/products to ensure that items purchased fulfill required capabilities. There are existing laws, established procedures, and agency policies already in place that govern the use of the specialized electronic equipment to be purchased with this funding, and agency personnel are currently using similar covert electronic equipment and ballistic shields/rifle plates. The second phase of the project consists of identifying specific equipment type/specifications best suited for fulfilling the project goals, then procuring the equipment and providing any necessary training required to operate/deploy equipment which can all be done via agency personnel w/vendor assistance if necessary. 1 PROJECT IDENTIFIERS: Surveillance, Equipment – Video/Audio, Officer Safety, Equipment – Tactical. 2 2016 JAG Local Byrne Grant Application – Okaloosa County Board of Commissioners PROGRAM NARRATIVE This proposed project consists of using federal grant funds to purchase supplies and/or equipment to update aging technology and enhance the current capabilities of the OCSO Criminal Investigations Division, and to enhance uniform patrol officer response/safety during high risk incidents. The program consists of research, equipment purchases, and in-house/vendor training. The first phase of the project, expected to last 30 to 60 days, will be researching specialized electronic equipment to ensure that items purchased fulfill required capabilities. Personnel with the criminal investigation are currently using similar specialized electronic equipment and they will, based on their knowledge, expertise, and familiarity/experience using similar equipment, conduct the product research. There are existing laws, established procedures, and agency policies already in place that govern the use of the specialized electronic equipment to be purchased, and investigators who use this electronic equipment will do so under the direct supervision of a supervisor. OCSO uniform patrol officers are already using individual ballistic shields w/rifle plates and the same/similar equipment will be purchased to maintain continuity and familiarity with users. The second phase of the project, expected to last 60 to 90 days, will begin once the research is complete and consists of identifying specific equipment type/specifications best suited for fulfilling the project goals then requesting competitive bids