HomeMy WebLinkAboutJAG Grant2008 EDWARD BYRNE MEMORIAL JUSTICE ASSISTANCE GRANT
(JAG)
This proposal, submitted by the City of Miami Police Department (MPD), supports
the legislative intent and operational objectives of the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice
Assistance Grant (JAG) Program. Funds provided by JAG will allow the MPD to
implement the Public Service•Aide (PSA) Technology Project following the guidelines of
the:
• Law Enforcement Programs
• Planning, Evaluation, and Technology Improvement Programs
Over the next four years the Miami Police Department will be implementing and
expanding the project detailed below. This project is extremely important because it will
expand and improve the operations of the MPD and provide better services to the City
of Miami residents and visitors.
1. Public Service Aide (PSA) Technology Project: (Equipping every
PSA vehicle with a computer laptop)
The City of Miami Police Department's (MPD) current budgeted sworn force
strength is 1,182 positions, but its actual sworn force strength is 1,030 police officers.
The need for more police officers in the City of Miami has been rapidly growing.
Numerous residential construction projects have been completed, and plans are
currently underway for the construction of more affordable housing in the City. This
growth will inevitably increase the need for more officers. Additionally, a large number
of officers who were hired by the City of Miami during the 1980's are currently retiring or
planning to retire in the near future. During the last five years a total of 331 officers
have retired.
To ensure that the delivery of police services is not impacted due to the attrition
of police officers, and to handle the future growth of the City, the City of Miami is
committed to hiring a sufficient number of PSAs who will assist and support officers in
delivering police services to the public. Hiring additional PSAs will allow police officers
more time to concentrate on the most urgent and critical needs for police services. The
MPD is in the process of hiring sixty (60) PSAs to supplement the officers in the field.
PSAs assist police officers with non -hazardous duties such as the investigation
and writing of motor vehicle accidents and the issuance of traffic summons. They
handle burglary, theft reports; and submit supplementary, missing persons and runaway
juvenile incident reports. They also run checks on tags, process crime scenes, and
perform traffic control duties. In other words, they are a valuable asset in
supplementing police services. Last year PSAs wrote 4,008 accident reports and
issued 3,270 summons. They also wrote 580 burglary reports, 201 supplemental
reports, 103 missing person reports, and a total of 2,837 incident reports for an increase
of 61 % from 2006.
One of the biggest challenges for the MPD is providing police officers and
support personnel with adequate resources to perform their duties. It is the goal of the
MPD to provide its employees . with the technology and equipment necessary to
enhance and improve their performance on an everyday basis. The addition of laptop
computers to the vehicles provided to these PSAs will not only improve their
productivity, but also increase the accuracy and speed in which they obtain vital
information. For example, with the use of the laptops, PSAs would not only be able to
write accident and incident reports, but would also be able to transmit the reports to
headquarters resulting in a decrease in delays when making reports available to the
public. The acquisition of new computers and software technology will provide PSAs
with state of the art equipment to facilitate their work while improving their work
conditions.
The estimated cost for the equipment associated with this project normally would
be $166,139.40. However, the City of Miami recommends that the extended warranty
available for these laptops be purchased whenever the laptops are acquired to offset
expensive repairs. The cost for the three year warranty for each of the laptops purchased
is $840.00. Since our awarded amount of $195,848.00 will fall short of the required
monies needed to complete the purchase of the laptops and cover the cost of the
warranty, the City of Miami General Fund will provide the $20,691.40 from the monies set
aside for matches.
Project Budget Summary:
Public Service Aide (PSA) Technology Project/ Equipping every PSA vehicle with
a laptop computer: $195,848.00
Currently no other related justice funds are being utilized to finance this project.
The following budget shows how the award is dedicated to this project:
Edward Byrne JAG 2008-2009 Grant
City of Miami
Budget Summary and Budget Justification
Project
Description
Total
1
install fully equipped laptops in all Public Service Aide vehicles
Extended Warranty for 35 laptops
Part of the $840.00 for one 3-year laptop warranty
Subtotal
City's match - extended warranty for 24 laptops and the
$531.40 part of the extended warranty for one laptop
Total
$166,139.41
$29,400.0i
$308.61
$195,848.01
$20,691.4(
$216,539.4(
Edward Byrne JAG 2008
City of Miami
Budget Summary and Budget Justification
Item
Description
Total
1 Public Service Aide (PSA) Technology Project -
[Project to equip every PSA vehicle (60) with a computer laptop]
ti
$ 195,848.00