* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.
          GOING TO HEAR 
          [00:00:01]
FROM HPD 
          [Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee on February 16, 2023.]
ASSISTANT CHIEF MARTIN, UH, WITH A STATUS REPORT ON THE CITY OF HOUSTON SHOT SPOTTER PROGRAM. 
          AND WE ARE ALSO GOING TO HAVE, UM, THE CEO OF THE HOUSTON FORENSIC SCIENCE CENTER, UH, DR. PETER STOUT PRESENTING AS WELL, WITH AN OVERVIEW ON THE CENTER. 
          UH, I AM JOINED IN CHAMBERS BY COLLEAGUES, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN, COUNCIL MEMBER PECK, COUNCIL MEMBER HUFFMAN AND STAFF FROM VICE CHAIR KNOX'S OFFICE. 
          AND THEN ONLINE WE HAVE STAFF FROM VICE MAYOR PRO TEM CASTEX TATUM'S OFFICE AND COUNCIL MEMBERS, JACKSON CISNEROS, PLUMBER, AND POLLARD. 
          IF I AM MISSING ANYBODY, PLEASE PUT YOUR NAME IN THE CHAT SO THAT WE CAN RECOGNIZE YOU FOR THE RECORD. 
          UH, WE ALSO, AS A REMINDER, HAVE MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WATCHING ONLINE AND ON HTV. 
          PLEASE NOTE THE PRESENTATIONS ARE UPLOADED ON THE COMMITTEE WEBSITE AS WELL. 
          UM, WE ARE, WE, AS WE HAVE TWO PRESENTATIONS, WE WILL HOLD QUESTIONS TO THE END OF EACH INDIVIDUAL PRESENTATION. 
          UH, AND A REMINDER ONLINE, PLEASE USE THE CHAT FUN FUNCTION TO GET INTO QUEUE TO ASK A QUESTION. 
          WE DO HAVE SEVERAL, UH, PUBLIC SPEAKERS SIGNED UP FOR THIS MEETING. 
          UH, YOU'LL BE CALLED AT THE END OF THE MEETING, AT WHICH POINT, IF YOU'RE JOINING US VIRTUALLY, PLEASE PRESS STAR SIX TO UNMUTE. 
          UH, AND EACH SPEAKER WILL HAVE TWO MINUTES, UH, TO SPEAK. 
          A FEW ANNOUNCEMENTS BEFORE WE BEGIN. 
          AND, UH, I WANNA ALSO RECOGNIZE WE'VE JUST BEEN JOINED BY STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS'S OFFICE AS WELL. 
          UH, IN TERMS OF EVENTS, UH, THIS WEEKEND, THEIR HARRIS COUNTY IS HOSTING THEIR GUN BUYBACK EVENT ON SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18TH FROM 8:00 AM TO 12:00 PM AT DEON PARK, UH, THAT IS BEING HOSTED. 
          AND WE'RE VERY APPRECIATIVE OF COMMISSIONER ELLISON, SHERIFF GONZALEZ FOR THAT PARTNERSHIP. 
          THAT WILL BE AT, UH, AGAIN, DEON PARK, 1 2 3 0 3 SONIA STREET. 
          AND THEN OUR OWN OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT HAS BEEN UPDATING HOUSTON'S COMPREHENSIVE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLAN. 
          UH, THE PURPOSE OF THAT IS TO HELP THE CITY AND OUR COMMUNITIES PREPARE FOR, RESPOND TO AND RECOVER FROM DISASTERS. 
          UH, THERE IS, I BELIEVE, ONE MORE FINAL COMMUNITY MEETING ON THAT FOR PUBLIC INPUT. 
          THAT IS ON FEBRUARY 20TH AT NOON AT HOUSTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE, WEST LOOP SOUTH. 
          THE ADDRESS IS 5 6 0 1 WEST LOOP SOUTH. 
          WITH THAT, AT THIS TIME, UH, THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES ASSISTANT CHIEF MARTIN FOR HIS PRESENTATION. 
          CHIEF, WELCOME. 
          ALRIGHT, WELL, THANK Y'ALL VERY MUCH FOR HAVING ME, UH, GET THROUGH THIS, UH, GIVE Y'ALL AN OVERVIEW OF SHOTSPOTTER SYSTEM. 
          IT HAS NOW BEEN LIVE, UH, ALMOST TWO YEAR, WELL, A LITTLE OVER TWO YEARS NOW. 
          WE HAD THE PILOT YEAR, AND THEN WE OBVIOUSLY, UH, IMPLEMENTED THE SYSTEM LIVE ABOUT A YEAR AGO. 
          IT'S BEEN ABOUT A YEAR SINCE THEN. 
          SO WE HAVE A FEW UPDATED NUMBERS. 
          UH, I HAVE SOME MORE THAT WE'RE STILL WORKING ON, BUT I'M GONNA GIVE YOU WHAT WE HAVE. 
          UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          THIS IS JUST A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS FOR PEOPLE WHO MAY OR MAY NOT BE AWARE. 
          WE GET A LOT OF REQUESTS SOMETIMES FOR PEOPLE TO TELL US THEY WANNA KNOW ABOUT THE SHOT SPOTTER DEVICE. 
          UH, SHOT SPOTTER IS ACTUALLY A CONTRACT WITH THE COMPANY. 
          WE CONTRACT FOR A SPECIFIC GEOGRAPHIC AREA. 
          IT'S NOT ACTUALLY AN INDIVIDUAL SPECIFIC DEVICE THAT WE PLACE OUT IN THE COMMUNITY. 
          WE TELL 'EM WHERE WE WANT THE SERVICE, AND THEY GO OUT AND PUT AS MANY SENSORS OR AS ARE NECESSARY TO COVER THAT AREA. 
          UH, THE WAY THE SYSTEM ACTUALLY WORKS IS WHEN GUNFIRE OCCURS, AT LEAST THREE OF THE SENSORS CAN HEAR THE GUNFIRE. 
          UH, THEY'RE USED WITH TIME AND DISTANCE ANALYSIS TO TRIANGULATE AND DETERMINE WHERE THE GUNFIRE IS. 
          THE COMPANY GUARANTEES THAT WITHIN, UH, CONTRACTUALLY THAT 90% OF GUNFIRE THAT IS OUTDOORS AND UNSUPPRESSED WILL BE DETECTED. 
          THEY GUARANTEE THAT 90% OF THE TIME WHAT THEY DO DETECT AND SEND TO US WILL ACTUALLY INDEED BE GUNFIRE. 
          AND THEY GUARANTEE THAT 90% OF THE TIME THE GUNFIRE WILL BE CONTAINED WITHIN AN 82 FOOT RADIUS CIRCLE THAT THEY PROVIDE TO US VIA AN APP ON OUR COM CAR COMPUTERS AND ALSO ON OUR, OUR MOBILE DEVICES. 
          SO IT IS, IT, WE FOUND IT ANECDOTALLY TO BE ACTUALLY MORE ACCURATE THAN THAT, BUT THAT'S THE CONTRACTUAL GUARANTEE OF THE COMPANY. 
          THERE IS ONE THING ON THIS PAGE THAT IS INCORRECT. 
          DOWN AT THE BOTTOM, THERE'S A QUOTE THAT SAYS THE SHOT SPOTTER SYSTEM WILL ALLOW OFFICERS TO INSTANTLY EXAMINE VIDEO. 
          OUR SYSTEM DEPLOYMENT, THIS IS ACTUALLY VERBIAGE FROM THEIR SITE, DOES NOT INCLUDE VIDEO. 
          UH, WE DO NOT HAVE ANY VIDEO CAMERAS DEPLOYED WITH ANY OF OUR SHOT SPOTTER SYSTEMS AT THIS TIME. 
          SO, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          THE DATA THAT I'M GONNA GIVE YOU IS ON OUR SOUTHEAST ZONE OF SHOT SPOTTER. 
          WE ACTUALLY HAVE TWO ZONES SOUTHEAST AND IN A NORTH DIVISION ZONE. 
          HOWEVER, THE NORTH DIVISION ZONE'S ONLY BEEN ACTIVE FOR ABOUT SIX MONTHS, AND THEIR, THAT'S TRACKING THE DATA IS NOT YET FULLY TRAINED TO GET THIS INFORMATION. 
          SO I'M USING THE SOUTHEAST DIVISION'S ANALYST TO GET MY DATA, BUT SHE WAS ONLY ABLE TO GET THROUGH IN THE TIME THAT WE HAD THE SOUTHEAST DATA. 
          SO 
          [00:05:01]
WE'RE WORKING ON THE NORTH DIVISION DATA. 
          IF YOU WOULD LIKE IT IN THE FUTURE, ONCE WE HAVE THAT DATA AVAILABLE, WE CAN MAKE IT AVAILABLE TO YOU. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          IN THE TIME PERIOD SINCE WE WENT LIVE, WHICH WAS DECEMBER 28TH, 2020, THAT WAS WHEN THE PILOT PROGRAM STARTED IN THE SOUTHEAST DIVISION. 
          WE HAD, AT THAT TIME, FIVE SQUARE MILES OF THE, OF THE SHOT SPOTTER PROGRAM PUT OUT. 
          UH, THEY GAVE US A ONE YEAR PILOT, UH, AT NO CHARGE. 
          AND IN THE TIME, SINCE THAT HAS OCCURRED THERE HAVE, THE SYSTEM HAS DETECTED GUNFIRE 15,449 TIMES. 
          THAT IS THROUGH FEBRUARY THE 12TH OF THIS YEAR. 
          UH, THAT ACCOUNTS FOR, BASED ON THOSE ALL THOSE ALERT, UH, ALERTS AND THINGS THAT THEY FOUND, UH, OVER 57,000 ROUNDS OF AMMUNITION FIRED, JUST WHERE IT COULD BE HEARD BY THE SENSORS IN THAT ONE FIVE SQUARE MILE TO THE CITY. 
          THAT WAS A PRETTY BIG NUMBER. 
          EVEN FOR US, KNOWING WHAT WE SEE OUT THERE IN, IN THE COMMUNITY AND OFFICERS WORKING OUT THERE IN THE FIELD, UH, THE AMOUNT OF GUNFIRE THAT WAS GOING ON WAS ACTUALLY A BIT OF A, A BIT OF AN EYE OPENER. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          OF THOSE 15,000 ALERTS, 5,450 OF THEM OCCURRED WITHIN, ACTUALLY WITHIN THE FIVE SQUARE MILES AND WERE SENT TO US AS SPOTTER ALERTS. 
          THE WAY THAT SYSTEM WORKS, THE, THE DIFFERENCE IN HOW THAT SYSTEM WORKS NOW VERSUS WHAT WE USED TO DO WITH REPORTS OF GUNFIRE IS IN THE PAST YOU WOULD GET A CALL FROM A CITIZEN USUALLY SAYING THEY HEARD GUNFIRE IN THE AREA AND IT WOULD DROP AS A CALL THAT WAS ALWAYS TITLED DISCHARGING FIREARMS UNKNOWN LOCATION. 
          YOU MIGHT GET A SHOOTING IN PROGRESS CALL 'CAUSE MAYBE THEY SAW SOMEBODY FIRING A GUN THAT WAS RUNNING AWAY OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. 
          BUT USUALLY THESE TYPES OF CALLS DROPPED US. 
          THEY DON'T KNOW WHERE IT HAPPENED. 
          I JUST HEARD GUNSHOTS AND I NEED THE POLICE TO COME. 
          WELL, THE OFFICERS WOULD RESPOND, THEY WOULDN'T KNOW EXACTLY WHERE TO GO. 
          THEY WOULD DRIVE THROUGH THE AREA, SEE WHAT THEY COULD SEE, AND THEN THEY'D CLEAR THE CALL AND MOVE ALONG. 
          AND NINE HUGE PERCENTAGE OF THE TIME THEY DIDN'T FIND ANYTHING BECAUSE THE PEOPLE HAD MOVED ALONG. 
          THERE WAS A DELAY IN THE PROCESS OF PROCESSING THE CALL, GETTING THE OFFICER DISPATCHED. 
          THE WAY THE SYSTEM WORKS NOW IS WHEN THE, WHEN THE SHOT SPOTTER SYSTEM DETECTS GUNFIRE, IT IS DETECTED BY COMPUTER. 
          A SHORT CLIP OF THE GUNFIRE IS SENT TO A RESPONSE CENTER THAT'S RUN BY SHOT SPOTTER. 
          THEY HAVE AN ANALYST TO THE CLIP DETERMINE THAT THEY BELIEVE THAT IT REALLY IS INDEED GUNFIRE, AND THEN THEY PUBLISH THAT ALERT TO THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT. 
          WE GET IT AT OUR DISPATCH CENTER AT THE WATCH COMMAND TABLE WHERE THE SUPERVISORS SIT AND THEY'LL DROP A CALL FOR SERVICE FOR IT, FOR THE OFFICERS TO RESPOND. 
          WHAT MAKES THE RESPONSE SO MUCH FASTER THAN IT USED TO BE THOUGH, IS CONCURRENTLY WITH THAT ALERT BEING SENT TO DISPATCH, IT IS ALSO SENT LIVE INTO THE FIELD TO EVERY OFFICER WORKING IN THAT AREA. 
          THEY GET IT ON THEIR MOBILE DEVICE, THEY GET IT ON THEIR CAR, COMPUTER THAT ALERT POPS UP AND TELLS THEM GUNFIRE HAS OCCURRED AND GIVES THEM A VERY PRECISE LOCATION. 
          THEY SAY THAT TYPICALLY PROCESS TYPICALLY TAKES FROM 45 SECONDS TO A MINUTE. 
          WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS 35 TO 45 SECONDS IS TYPICALLY A DELAY BEFORE THE OFFICERS ARE MADE AWARE OF GUNFIRE. 
          SO INSTEAD OF SEVERAL MINUTES FOR A CALL FOR SERVICE TO BE PROCESSED AND THE OFFICER TO EVENTUALLY BE DISPATCHED, OFFICERS IN THESE AREAS ARE BEING MADE AWARE OF INSTANCES OF GUNFIRE IN LESS THAN A MINUTE. 
          MOST OF THE TIME. 
          UH, AND OUR EXPECTATION OF THEM IS THAT THEY WILL SELF DEPLOY. 
          THEY WILL SEE THIS AND THEY WILL SAY, OKAY, THERE'S GUNFIRE GOING ON. 
          I'M GOING RIGHT NOW. 
          UH, WE EVEN RUN THEM AS EMERGENCY CALLS. 
          WE TREAT THEM AS A SHOOTING IN PROGRESS BECAUSE IF YOU LOOK AT WHAT WE NORMALLY GET, WHICH IS SOMETIMES A WITNESS ACCOUNT THAT MAY BE DELAYED, UH, THEY MAY HAVE TAKEN TIME TO FIND A PHONE, MAY HAVE TAKEN TIME TO HIDE UNTIL THE SHOOTING STOPPED. 
          WHETHER A CIRCUMSTANCE IS THIS IS IN REAL TIME. 
          AND SO IT IS PROBABLY AS CLOSE TO A TRULY IN PROGRESS DISCHARGE OF FIREARMS THAT THE OFFICERS EVER GET. 
          AND SO THEY RUN IT AS A SHOOTING IN PROGRESS, RESPONDING LIGHTS AND SIRENS TO THAT LOCATION. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          I'M NOT GONNA GET INTO THE DETAILS OF THESE CHARTS. 
          THESE ARE IN THE PRESENTATION. 
          I, IT'S JUST A BREAKDOWN OF TYPES OF CALLS BASED ON MONTHS AND TIMES THAT HAPPENED. 
          BUT THERE HAVE BEEN OVER A THOUSAND OFFENSE REPORTS GENERATED AS A RESULT OF THESE CALLS. 
          ABOUT JUST UNDER 20% OF THE TIME. 
          IT RESULTS IN AN OFFENSE REPORT BEING DONE. 
          UH, ONE PARTICULAR BEAT HAD THE MOST, THERE HAVE BEEN 99 ARRESTS SO FAR WITH 126 DIFFERENT CHARGES ON THOSE 99 INDIVIDUALS. 
          AND WE HAVE RESPONDED TO SCENES 54 DIFFERENT TIMES WHERE THERE WAS A GUNSHOT VICTIM ON THE SCENE. 
          WHEN WE RESPONDED. 
          THREE OF THOSE TIMES, WE RESPONDED JUST, JUST WITHIN THE FIRST YEAR. 
          THERE'VE BEEN MORE SINCE THEN, AND I'LL GET INTO A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHY I DON'T HAVE BETTER DATA ON THAT. 
          WITHIN THE FIRST YEAR, WE TRACKED THREE DIFFERENT INSTANCES WHERE WE RESPONDED AND FOUND SOMEONE WHO HAD BEEN SHOT AND NO CALL TO THE POLICE OR EMS HAD BEEN MADE AND THE PERSON SITTING THERE BLEEDING. 
          AND WE WERE ABLE TO PROVIDE LIFESAVING FIRST AID AND BELIEVE THAT THE OFFICER'S EFFORTS AT THAT TIME MAY HAVE SAVED THAT PERSON'S LIFE. 
          SO IT'S ANOTHER ONE OF THE, THE BENEFITS WE'VE SEEN FROM THE QUICK RESPONSE WE'RE ABLE TO GET. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          ADDITIONALLY, OF THE WE'VE, WE'VE ACTUALLY RECOVERED 4,300 PLUS CARTRIDGE CASINGS. 
          107 GUNS HAVE BEEN RECOVERED OFF OF THESE CALLS WHERE WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO, TO APPREHEND SOMEONE WHO HAD A FIREARM 
          [00:10:01]
WITH THEM. 
          AND 773 OF THE CASINGS WE RECOVERED ACTUALLY WERE RECOVERED BY THE A TF. 
          WHAT THEY'LL DO IS THEY ACTUALLY FOLLOW UP ON THESE. 
          THEY HAVE THIS SYSTEM AND THEY'LL BRING THEIR, UH, EXPLOSION DETECTION CANINE OUT, AND THEY WILL, THEY'RE ABLE TO FIND FIRED CASINGS THAT WE MAY HAVE MISSED, THAT WE WEREN'T ABLE TO FIND BECAUSE OFFICERS GO OUT THERE AT NIGHT, IT'S IN THE GRASS, WHATEVER THE CIRCUMSTANCE MAY BE, THEY WILL OFTEN FOLLOW UP AND COME OUT AND FIND ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE. 
          IT'S BEEN A GOOD PARTNERSHIP, UH, 808 AND 24 OF THE TIME OF THE CASES THAT WE GENERATED. 
          OF THOSE THOUSAND CASES, WE HAVE HAD DATA ENTERED INTO THE NATIONAL INTEGRATED BALLISTICS INFORMATION NETWORK, NB. 
          THAT INTELLIGENCE IS INVALUABLE FOR US GOING FORWARD. 
          UH, I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT LATER, BUT WE HAVE ENTERED A LOT OF SHELL CASINGS IN BIN SINCE THIS THIS PROGRAM WENT LIVE. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          ALRIGHT, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          THIS IS ACTUALLY DATA JUST FOR THIS YEAR SO FAR, UH, BROKE IT DOWN TO JUST JANUARY 1ST THROUGH FEBRUARY 12TH. 
          SO FAR THIS YEAR, JUST IN THE SOUTHEAST ZONE, THERE HAVE BEEN 990 ALERTS PUBLISHED TO OFFICERS, OR THAT'S 990 TOTAL ALERTS ACTUALLY THAT THEY GENERATED, UH, OVER 4,000 ROUNDS FIRED IN THAT AREA. 
          WE'VE ACTUALLY, IN THAT AREA, SEEN A DECLINE IN THE NUMBER OF ALERTS, POSSIBLY BECAUSE PEOPLE BEGAN TO SEE OFFICERS SHOWING UP EVERY TIME THEY FIRED A GUN AND, AND BEGAN TO SEE THE WRITING ON THE WALL THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING HAPPENING. 
          THERE HAVE BEEN 280. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          THERE HAVE BEEN 289 ALERTS THAT WERE ACTUALLY PUBLISHED TO HPD IN THE SOUTHEAST ZONE SINCE JANUARY 1ST. 
          A TOTAL OF A THOUSAND, RIGHT AT 1,150 ROUNDS, 1,147 ROUNDS FIRED IN THAT AREA. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          AND OF THOSE, WE'VE GENERATED 21 OFFENSE REPORTS SO FAR THIS YEAR MADE FOUR DIFFERENT ARRESTS WITH FOUR CHARGES. 
          WE'VE HAD, UH, 90, 95 DIFFERENT SHELL CASINGS THAT HAVE BEEN RECOVERED SO FAR THIS YEAR AND TAGGED. 
          AND OF THE 21 REPORTS, 90% OF 'EM HAVE RESULTED IN A IVAN ENTRY SO FAR THIS YEAR, JUST IN THE SOUTHEAST AREA. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          OH, I WENT, GOT AHEAD OF MYSELF. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          AND OF THOSE REPORTS, 17 OF THEM REGARD WERE REGARDING DISCHARGING FIREARMS IN THE CITY LIMITS OF HOUSTON. 
          UH, ONE WAS, WAS DONE AS AN EVADING CASE 'CAUSE WHEN THEY GOT ON THE SCENE, THE SUSPECT ATTEMPTED TO FLEE. 
          TWO OF THEM WERE RECKLESS OR DEADLY CONDUCT BY FIREARMS WHERE WE ACTUALLY WERE ABLE TO APPREHEND THE PERSON AND PROVED THAT THEY WERE FIRING IN SOMEONE'S DIRECTION, UH, AND GET A, A HEIGHTENED CHARGE, A FELONY CHARGE ON THAT INDIVIDUAL. 
          AND WE GOT AT LEAST ONE FELON IN POSSESSION OF A FIREARM. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          NOW JUST, JUST A LITTLE BIT OF AN UPDATE ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH THE PROGRAM AND HOW WE'RE IMPLEMENTING IT IN, IN HPD. 
          UH, THE STATS ARE WHAT THEY ARE. 
          UH, WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF, UH, DOING SOME RETRAINING AND ACTUALLY UPDATING OUR POLICIES WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT. 
          UH, WE, WITH THE TRANSFER OF PERSONNEL AND NEW PERSONNEL COMING IN, WE HAVE OFFICERS GOING INTO THE AREAS WHERE SHOT SPOTTER EXISTS THAT WERE NOT THERE WHEN WE DID THE INITIAL TRAINING. 
          AND WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR RESPONSE STAYS CONSISTENT. 
          UH, WE HAVE, UH, OCCASIONAL SITUATIONS WHERE CALLS MAY BE CLEARED UNFOUNDED WHEN THEY WERE NOT. 
          UH, WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO IMPRESS UPON THE OFFICERS IS THAT IF YOU HAVEN'T ACTUALLY PROVEN THAT GUNFIRE DID NOT OCCUR, THEN IT'S NOT UNFOUNDED. 
          UH, YOU MAY BE UNABLE TO LOCATE IT OR SOME OTHER REASON, BUT IT'S NOT ACTUALLY UNFOUNDED. 
          UH, WHAT WE DO WHEN WE DO HAVE AN UNFOUNDED CASE, AND THERE WERE, I BELIEVE IT WAS 17 DIFFERENT CASES THAT WE REPORTED TO SHOT SPOTTER OVER THE LIFE OF THE PROGRAM SO FAR, IS WHEN WE GET THERE, AND IT'S OBVIOUSLY NOT GUNFIRE, IT'S A CONSTRUCTION SITE WITH A NAIL GUN OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. 
          WE ACTUALLY EXPECT THE OFFICERS AND WE EMPOWER THE OFFICERS IN THE FIELD TO DO THIS. 
          THEY DON'T HAVE TO GO TO THEIR COMMANDER, THEY DON'T HAVE TO GO TO A SUPERVISOR. 
          THEY CAN, THROUGH THEIR APP NOTIFY SHOTS SPOTTER THAT, HEY, I CAME OUT HERE AND THIS WAS NOT GUNFIRE. 
          UH, WE'VE HAD IT HAPPEN. 
          UH, THAT WAS, I THINK, I THINK THERE WERE NINE WHAT WE CALLED FALSE POSITIVES WHERE IT WAS GUNFIRE REPORTED, BUT IT ENDED UP NOT BEING, AND WE HAD SEVEN TIMES WHAT WE CALL A FALSE NEGATIVE, WHERE WE GOT A RESPONSE TO A GUNFIRE INCIDENT THAT THE SYSTEM DID NOT DETECT. 
          BUT THAT'S IN THE SPAN OF TWO YEARS. 
          SO ACTUALLY THAT'S BEEN A PRETTY GOOD, PRETTY GOOD RATIO. 
          IT BEATS THE 90% THAT WAS PROMISED. 
          SO LOOKING AT THE BENEFITS OF THE PROGRAM, ARRESTING CHARGES ARE JUST ONE OF THEM. 
          WE'VE GOT A MUCH MORE ACCURATE PICTURE NOW IN THOSE COMMUNITIES WHERE THIS SYSTEM EXISTS OF WHAT IS GOING ON, UH, GUN VIOLENCE WISE AND GUNFIRE WISE. 
          APPROXIMATELY 90 PLUS PERCENT OF GUNFIRE THAT OCCURS IN, IN THE COMMUNITY DOES NOT GET REPORTED TO THE POLICE. 
          UH, I SPENT A LOT OF TIME WHEN THE SYSTEM FIRST WENT LIVE GOING OUT AND DISCUSSING IT WITH CIVIC GROUPS AND COMMUNITY GROUPS ABOUT WHY THAT IS. 
          AND IT WAS A MULTITUDE OF FACTORS, UH, FEAR OF RETALIATION, FEAR THAT WE WOULD SHOW UP AND SOMEONE WOULD RETALIATE AGAINST THEM FOR CALLING THE POLICE. 
          UH, THE BELIEF THAT WE EITHER WOULD NOT OR COULD NOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. 
          AND, AND JUST SOMETIMES BECOMING NUMB TO IT TO WHERE IT FADES INTO THE BACKGROUND AND THEY JUST LIVE WITH IT AS A PART OF LIFE AND CHOOSE 
          [00:15:01]
NOT TO CALL OR JUST DON'T EVEN THINK TO CALL OR ASSUME SOMEONE ELSE IS GONNA CALL. 
          AND, AND THE GUNFIRE IS NEVER REPORTED. 
          SO WE'RE GETTING A VERY ACCURATE PICTURE OF THE LEVEL OF GUNFIRE THAT'S ACTUALLY OCCURRING IN SOME OF THESE COMMUNITIES. 
          WE HAVE HAD STORIES FROM PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE AREA OF PEOPLE HAVING THEIR CHILDREN SLEEP IN BATHTUBS BECAUSE THEY'RE WORRIED THAT THEY'RE GONNA HIT, HIT BY A STRAY BULLET 'CAUSE THEY HEAR GUNFIRE ALL THE TIME. 
          SO THIS GIVES US A MUCH MORE ACCURATE PICTURE OF WHAT'S REALLY GOING ON IN THOSE AREAS. 
          IT ALLOWS US TO COLLECT FIREARMS INTELLIGENCE. 
          EVERY SHELL CASING THAT GOES INTO IVAN IS BASICALLY A FINGERPRINT FOR THE GUN THAT FIRED IT. 
          AND SO WHAT WE END UP DOING IS WE PICK THOSE UP AND WE PUT 'EM IN AND WE MAY NOT HAVE APPREHENDED SOMEONE ON THAT SCENE, BUT WHAT ENDS UP HAPPENING IS, UH, IT GOES INTO THE IVAN SYSTEM AND IF WE GET A RESULT AND THEN SAY WE RECOVER A SHELL CASING AT A MURDER SCENE, IF THOSE TWO MATCH, THEN WE KNOW THAT AT THIS SCENE WHERE WE WERE BEFORE AND AT THIS MURDER, THE SAME GUN WAS USED. 
          AND THAT'S ADDITIONAL INFORMATION THAT THAT DETECTIVE CAN THEN GO BACK TO AND USE TO TRY AND SOLVE THAT, THAT VIOLENT CRIME. 
          SO THAT, THAT INFORMATION IS VERY USEFUL TO US. 
          I SPOKE TO PEOPLE OUT IN THE COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY IN SOUTHEAST 'CAUSE THAT'S WHERE I WAS WHEN THIS STARTED. 
          AND THEIR LEVEL OF CONFIDENCE IN OUR ABILITY TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT GUNFIRE HAS ACTUALLY INCREASED BECAUSE WHAT THEY'RE SEEING IS EVERY TIME THEY HEAR GUNFIRE NOW IN THOSE AREAS, THEY'RE SEEING A POLICE CAR COMING IN LIGHTS AND SIRENS TO RESPOND TO THAT, TO THAT CALL, WHETHER THEY CALLED OR NOT. 
          IF THEY HEAR GUNFIRE, THEN THEY HEAR A SIREN VERY SHORTLY THEREAFTER AND SEE A POLICE CAR COMING THROUGH WITH ITS LIGHTS ON. 
          AND THAT REALLY DID A LOT TO MAKE PEOPLE FEEL LIKE THAT, HEY, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE NOT IGNORED. 
          WE'RE NOT FORGOTTEN. 
          UH, THE, THE POLICE ARE OUT HERE TRYING TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS GUNFIRE AND IT EMPOWERED THEM TO SOMETIMES CALL WHEN THEY OTHERWISE WOULD NOT HAVE. 
          I'VE HAD SEVERAL PEOPLE TELL ME THAT I USED TO NOT CALL, BUT NOW I DO BECAUSE I KNOW Y'ALL ARE GONNA COME. 
          UH, AND SO THAT WAS, THAT WAS VERY PLEASING TO ME TO HEAR BECAUSE WHEN I WAS OUT THERE AS A COMMANDER, IT WAS, IT WAS KIND OF HURT YOUR HEART TO, TO HEAR PEOPLE SAY THEY JUST DIDN'T CALL 'CAUSE THEY DIDN'T THINK WE COULD DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. 
          AND THEN THE LAST PART IS JUST THE LIVES SAVED. 
          WE KNOW ABOUT THE THREE IN THE FIRST YEAR. 
          I DON'T HAVE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE OTHERS. 
          I KNOW THERE WAS AT LEAST TWO CASES IN THE FOLLOWING YEAR THAT WE WERE EVALUATING. 
          WE TRY TO ONLY SAY, YEAH, THAT WAS A LIFE SAVED IF WE KNOW THAT OUR OFFICER'S FIRST AID PROBABLY SAVED THAT PERSON'S LIFE AND THERE WAS NO OTHER CALL FOR SERVICE. 
          UH, BUT WE DO SEE THAT, UH, THAT HAS BEEN SEEN ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND OTHER CITIES AS WELL, WHERE OFFICERS GET THERE AND FIND A GUNSHOT VICTIM WHO OTHERWISE WOULD NOT HAVE GOTTEN EITHER AS TIMELY A CARE OR ANY CARE FROM EMS. UH, UNDER THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES. 
          WE'VE UNFORTUNATELY HAD PEOPLE WHERE WE FOUND THEM AND WE DID TRY TO PERFORM LIFESAVING FIRST AID, BUT THEY SUCCUMBEDED THEIR INJURIES, BUT THE OFFICERS WERE THERE A LOT QUICKER THAN THEY WOULD'VE BEEN OTHERWISE. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          OKAY. 
          BEFORE WE GET INTO QUESTIONS, UH, I DO HAVE ONE OTHER THING. 
          WHEN THIS WAS INITIALLY IMPLEMENTED IN, IN MY AREA WHEN I WAS A COMMANDER, UH, MY INITIAL CONCERN WAS THIS IS JUST GONNA BE A LOT MORE CALLS FOR SERVICE FOR MY OFFICERS. 
          UH, AND, AND WHAT ARE WE GONNA GET OUT OF IT? WELL, ONE OF THE THINGS WE EVALUATED OVER THE FIRST YEAR OF THE PROGRAM, AND WE'VE SINCE UPDATED THAT EVALUATION THROUGH FEBRUARY 12TH. 
          THE, THE DATE THAT WE DID THIS REPORT IN THE AREA, JUST IN THE SOUTHEAST SIDE WHERE WE DEPLOYED THE SHOT SPOTTER SENSORS, THE NUMBER OF CALLS FOR SERVICE TOTAL COUNTING THE SHOT SPOTTER CALLS, THE TOTAL NUMBER OF CALLS FOR SERVICE THAT DROPPED IN THAT AREA DURING THAT JUST OVER TWO YEAR PERIOD, WENT DOWN BY OVER 3,700 CALLS FOR SERVICE. 
          THAT'S ALL CALLS WHERE SOMEONE CALLED FOR POLICE SERVICE. 
          THERE WERE 30, 3700 FEWER TIMES THAT SOMEONE HAD TO ACTUALLY PICK UP THE PHONE AND CALL THE POLICE IN THAT AREA. 
          UH, IT GETS INTO IT BEING ONE OF THE BEST DIRECTED PATROL PROGRAMS YOU COULD EVER ASK FOR. 
          YOU HAVE OFFICERS DIRECTED TO EVERY INSTANCE OF GUNFIRE THAT OCCURS IN A NEIGHBORHOOD. 
          UH, YOU KNOW, THAT'S ONE OF THE MOST DIRECTED TYPE OF PROGRAMS THAT I CAN THINK OF TO SEND OFFICERS TO WHERE THEY'RE NEEDED. 
          AND IT, IT'S BEEN VERY BENEFICIAL TO US. 
          AND THAT'S REALLY ALL I HAVE UNLESS ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH, CHIEF. 
          UM, WE DO HAVE A FEW COUNCIL MEMBERS IN QUEUE. 
          UM, FIRST, UH, I'LL RECOGNIZE COUNCIL MEMBER PECK. 
          THANK YOU SHARON. 
          THANK YOU CHIEF FOR THE PRESENTATION. 
          UM, FOR THE SHOT SPOTTER IN THE NORTH DIVISION MM-HMM . 
          IN DISTRICT A. 
          WE DEFINITELY GET A LOT OF, UM, POSITIVE FEEDBACK ABOUT THAT SHOT SPOTTER FOR THE SHOTSPOTTER'S PURCHASED WITH COUNCIL DISTRICT SERVICE FUNDS. 
          IS THERE A STATUS UPDATE ON WHEN THAT MIGHT BE IMPLEMENTED? I CAN GET YOU, UH, I ACTUALLY FOR YOUR DISTRICT, ACTUALLY, I HAVE THE BREAKDOWN OF THE LOCATIONS, THE RECOMMENDED LOCATIONS. 
          I HAVEN'T BEEN SPECIFICALLY TOLD OF ANYBODY WHO IS DIRECTLY CONTRACTED YET. 
          BUT ONCE WE GET THOSE LOCATIONS FIGURED OUT AND THE CHOICE IS MADE TO DO THAT, THEN IT'S JUST A MATTER OF FINDING OUT THROUGH PURCHASING HOW WE WANT TO GO ABOUT IT. 
          UH, BECAUSE SHOT SPOTTER CAN EITHER CONTACT CONTRACT DIRECTLY WITH THAT COUNCIL DISTRICT OR THEY CAN ADD IT ON TO THE CITIES, UH, DEPENDING ON HOW WE WANT TO, TO EMPLOY THAT. 
          UH, I KNOW THAT'S STILL PENDING RIGHT NOW ON ANYTHING THAT WE WOULD HAVE. 
          OKAY. 
          AND THEN, UM, FOR THE THREE SHOT SPOTTERS THAT SPRING BRANCH ISD YES. 
          HAS AT THE SCHOOLS, 
          [00:20:01]
HOW IS HPD COORDINATING WITH THEM? AND IS HPD KEEPING TRACK OF STATS LIKE THIS TOO? OR IS THAT REALLY SPRING BRANCH ISD THAT'S DOING THAT? HOW, HOW DOES THAT WORK? I DON'T ACTUALLY HAVE THOSE STATS, BUT I INTEND TO GET THEM AND I HAVE ACCESS TO THEM, UH, VIA THE SHOTS SPOTTER PROGRAM THAT WE USE TO GET THESE OTHERS. 
          UH, SPRING BRANCH HAS BEEN A FANTASTIC PARTNER IN THAT, IN THAT CASE, THEY PURCHASED THREE ONE QUARTER MILE AREAS OF SHOTSPOTTER AROUND THREE HIGH SCHOOLS. 
          THEY WERE CONCERNED ABOUT GUNFIRE IN THE AREA. 
          THEY HAD SOME PROBLEMATIC, UH, APARTMENT COMPLEXES NEARBY, AND THEY WANTED TO HAVE BETTER DATA TO USE TO DECIDE WHETHER THEY NEEDED TO GO ON LOCKDOWN AT THEIR SCHOOLS OR ANYTHING OF THAT NATURE. 
          SO THE PARTNERSHIP WE ENTERED INTO WITH SPRING BRANCH ISD, WAS THAT THEIR POLICE DEPARTMENT WOULD RESPOND TO THE SCHOOL AND WOULD DETERMINE WHETHER LOCKDOWN WAS NECESSARY AND SECURE THEIR FACILITY. 
          AND OUR OFFICERS WOULD RECEIVE THE ALERT TO THEIR CELL PHONES AND TO THEIR CARS AND WOULD RUN THOSE. 
          AND COMMANDER WYNN AT NORTHWEST HAS BEEN PHENOMENAL. 
          HE IS, HIS OFFICERS HAVE TAKEN TO IT VERY WELL AND SEE IT AS A REALLY GOOD TOOL. 
          AND THAT'S THREE, THREE QUARTERS OF A MILE THAT WE'RE NOT ACTUALLY HAVING TO FUND. 
          AND THEY'VE HAD GREAT SUCCESS. 
          THEY WERE MAKING ARREST IN THAT AREA ALMOST IMMEDIATELY ONCE IT WENT LIVE. 
          SO SPRING BRANCH HAS BEEN A FANTASTIC PARTNER. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, AND CHAIR RECOGNIZES STAFF FROM MAYOR PRO. 
          TIM MARTIN'S OFFICE IS ALSO PRESENT NOW. 
          UM, CHIEF, JUST TO PIGGYBACK ON THAT, AND WE HAVE SOME OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS IN QUEUE, BUT I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF INTEREST FROM OTHER COUNCIL OFFICES MM-HMM . 
          ABOUT PURCHASING THI RIGHT. 
          PURCHASING THIS TECHNOLOGY FOR THEIR DISTRICTS. 
          CORRECT. 
          ON THE OTHER HAND, UM, WE'VE HEARD CONCERNS FROM SOME IN THE COMMUNITY THAT SAY, WELL, THIS COULD BE USED TO TARGET A CERTAIN AREA, THINGS OF THAT NATURE. 
          CAN YOU SPEAK TO WHAT, UM, WE CAN DO AS COUNCIL MEMBERS IF WE HAVE AN AREA THAT'S INTERESTED IN HOW YOU ALL ARE DETERMINING WHERE TO LOCATE AND UTILIZE THIS TECHNOLOGY AND HOW THAT BALANCE IS PLAYING OUT? YES, I CAN DO THAT. 
          UH, I'LL TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT, ACTUALLY, AND I MEANT TO SAY THIS AS PART OF THE PRESENTATION. 
          THE WAY WE HAVE DETERMINED OUR AREAS FOR DEPLOYMENT IS 100% BASED ON DATA REGARDING GUNFIRE. 
          WE'VE TAKEN CALLS FOR SERVICE REGARDING GUNFIRE, GUN REPORTS OF GUN CRIME. 
          THOSE ARE THE ONLY DATA POINTS THAT WE USED TO DETERMINE WHERE WE WERE GONNA PLACE THIS INFORMATION, THESE SENSORS WHERE WE WERE GONNA CONTRACT FOR THIS BECAUSE WE WANTED TO NOT BE PLACED IN A SITUATION WHERE PEOPLE WOULD SAY THAT WE WERE TARGETING PARTICULAR COMMUNITIES, PARTICULAR AREAS WE WENT WHERE THE GUNFIRE WAS. 
          SO WHAT WE WOULD OFFER TO COUNCIL DISTRICTS WHO WANT TO FUND IT IN THEIR AREAS, WE HAVE THE BOUNDARIES OF YOUR DISTRICT. 
          THAT'S FINE. 
          WE'LL SAY WE'RE GONNA PUT IT WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF THAT DISTRICT. 
          BUT WE WOULD ASK THAT, WE WOULD THEN TAKE YOUR DISTRICT AND BREAK IT DOWN BY GUNFIRE CALLS AND BY GUN CRIME AND DETERMINE WHERE THE MOST CRITICAL AREAS WITHIN YOUR DISTRICT ARE AS FAR AS GUNFIRE AND GUN CRIME. 
          AND USE THAT TO DETERMINE WHERE THE DEPLOYMENT WOULD GO. 
          UH, THAT WAY WE'RE DOING IT DATA-BASED, WE'RE BASING IT ON GUNFIRE AND REPORTS OF GUNFIRE INSTEAD OF ANY OTHER FACTOR. 
          THANK YOU. 
          CHAIR RECOGNIZES. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN. 
          THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          I BELIEVE IT'S SLIDE SEVEN WHERE IT TALKS ABOUT THE A TF. 
          CAN YOU JUST DESCRIBE FOR ME THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HPD AND A TF? LIKE, DOES EVERYBODY GO TO THE SCENE OR DO Y'ALL GO FIRST AND THEN THE A TF GOES LATER? I MEAN, HOW, HOW DOES IT WORK THAT WHEN WE RESPOND, IT'S, IT'S A PATROLMAN RESPONDING AS TO AN EMERGENCY CALL 24 HOURS A DAY? SURE. 
          UH, WE SEND A SUPERVISOR TO THE C TO THE SCENE JUST TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS DONE CORRECTLY. 
          WHAT THE A TF DOES IS THEY GET THE ALERTS AND IF THEY SEE AN ALERT WHERE THEY SEE THAT WE DIDN'T FIND ANY EVIDENCE, BUT THERE WAS A, A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF GUNSHOTS, THEY WILL ON THEIR OWN, RESPOND AFTER THE FACT WITH ONE OF THEIR CANINES AND SEE IF THEY CAN, CAN FIND ANY ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE. 
          UH, AND THEY'VE DONE THAT, YOU KNOW, BETWEEN, IT'S BETWEEN THREE AND 400 TIMES I THINK SO FAR THAT THEY BROUGHT THEIR CANINE OUT. 
          AND ALMOST EVERY TIME THEY DO, THEY FIND SOMETHING, UH, THEY PICK AND CHOOSE. 
          THEY LOOK FOR THE ONES WHERE THERE'S HIGHER NUMBERS OF GUNSHOTS. 
          THEY LOOK FOR ONES WHERE IT'S OBVIOUS THAT WE WERE UNABLE TO FIND SOMETHING, WHETHER, LIKE I SAID, IT WAS EITHER IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT OR IT WAS RAINING OR IT WAS IN THE HIGH GRASS OR WHATEVER THE CIRCUMSTANCE IS. 
          AND THEY'LL BRING THEIR CANINE OUT AND THEY'LL LOCATE THAT EVIDENCE AND GO AHEAD AND TAG IT. 
          SO THEY USUALLY RESPOND AFTER THE FACT. 
          GOT IT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND YOU GAVE A STAT OF THE NUMBER OF, UH, OF THAT GUNSHOTS THAT AREN'T REPORTED OR, AND I MISSED IT. 
          WHAT WAS WE HAVE FOUND BASED ON, UH, LOOKING AT THE WAY WE DETERMINE THAT INFORMATION IS WE LOOK AT THE NUMBER OF SHOT SPOTTER ALERTS, AND THEN WE COMPARE IT TO THE NUMBER OF TIMES SOMEONE ACTUALLY CALLS THE POLICE REGARDING GUNFIRE. 
          AND THE ESTIMATE IS THAT GREATER THAN 90% OF GUNFIRE THAT OCCURS IN THE COMMUNITY IS NOT REPORTED. 
          OKAY. 
          AND NOT THE COUNCIL DIFFER SERVICE FUNDS, BUT THE, THE MONEY THAT'S BEEN SPENT SO FAR ON SHOTS SPOTTER, DO YOU HAVE THAT FIGURE? I MEAN, I SHOULD, I DON'T HAVE THE FIGURE. 
          OKAY, THAT'S FINE. 
          OKAY. 
          THE MOST RECENT VOTE KNOW WAS TO FUND THE REST OF THE CONTRACT. 
          YEAH. 
          AND, AND UM, UM, HOW MANY SQUARE MILES OF THE CITY, IF YOU COUNT ALL THE ISD AND THE COUNTY 
          [00:25:01]
AND THE CITY WOULD ARE COVERED BY SHOP SPOT WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON, COUNTING THE THREE QUARTERS OF A MILE THAT SPRING RANCH ISD HAS, IT IS 10 AND THREE QUARTER MILE 10 AND THREE QUARTER MILES. 
          WE HAVE FIVE SQUARE MILES ON THE SOUTH SIDE IN THE SOUTHEAST AREA. 
          OKAY. 
          AND WE HAVE FIVE SQUARE MILES ON THE NORTH SIDE, NORTH OF SIX 10 WEST OF 45 IN THE NORTH DIVISION. 
          WOW. 
          THERE'S MANY SHOTS JUST IN 10 SQUARE MILES, JUST IN THAT SMALL AREA OF A 600 SQUARE MILES AREA. 
          DOES THAT INCLUDE MANAGEMENT DISTRICTS, MANAGEMENT DISTRICTS TO DATE THAT I'M AWARE OF HAVE NOT YET CONTRACTED WITH SHOT SPOTTER. 
          SOME OF THEM HAVE SOME DIFFERENT TYPES OF DEVICES OUT THERE, BUT I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY THAT HAVE ACTUALLY FOLLOWED THROUGH AND CONTRACTED WITH SHOTSPOTTER. 
          I KNOW, UH, THREE MANAGEMENT DISTRICTS ON THE SOUTHWEST SIDE, I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER POLLARD WAS TALKING TO THEM ARE CONSIDERING, UH, GOING TOGETHER AND FUNDING SOME OF THESE UH, AREAS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          CERTAINLY. 
          BUT YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT COUNCIL MEMBER IN TERMS OF HOW MANY GUNSHOTS WE'RE SEEING YES. 
          COMPARED TO, YEAH. 
          AND, AND IT MAKES IT EASY TO UNDERSTAND WHY SOME PEOPLE FEEL LIKE THEY'RE LIVING IN FEAR BECAUSE IN THEIR, IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD, YOU LOOK AT, IN THE SPAN OF A TWO YEARS TIME, THEY'VE HAD 57,000 GUNSHOTS GOING OFF. 
          UH, BECAUSE SHOT SPOTTER ACTUALLY DETECTS ALERTS THAT THEY DON'T PUBLISH. 
          THEY ONLY PUBLISH WITHIN THE FIVE SQUARE MILES THAT WE CONTRACT FOR, BUT THEY PROVIDE US WITH THE DATA ON ONES THAT HAPPEN IN THE PERIPHERY AROUND THE OUTSIDE. 
          THE REASON THEY DON'T PUBLISH 'EM IS THEY CAN'T GUARANTEE THEIR ACCURACY BECAUSE THEY'RE OUTSIDE THE AREAS WHERE THE SENSORS ARE PLACED. 
          BUT IF THEY FEEL LIKE THEY CAN DETECT IT WITH A REASONABLE DEGREE OF ACCURACY, THEY PROVIDE THAT DATA TO US AFTER THE FACT SO THAT WE CAN EITHER GO OUT AND LOOK FOR EVIDENCE OR SEE IF WE CAN LINK THAT INFORMATION TO CRIMES THAT MAY HAVE OCCURRED IN THAT AREA. 
          SO, UH, CHAIR RECOGNIZES COUNCIL MEMBER HUFFMAN. 
          THANK YOU CHIEF. 
          UM, I'VE ACTUALLY GOTTEN TO SEE FIRSTHAND HOW SHOT SPOTTER WORKED. 
          I WENT OUT ON A CALL WHERE, UM, THERE WAS A GUY WHO HE WAS SUFFERING FROM SOME KIND OF MENTAL ILLNESS, CIT CRISIS, AND, UM, HE WAS FIRING A GUN AND HE WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF A RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD WITH ALL THESE HOMES AND THE OFFICERS WERE ABLE TO SAFELY, YOU KNOW, APPREHEND HIM, GET HIM THE HELP HE NEEDED. 
          AND, UM, AND IT WORKED OUT REALLY WELL. 
          UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THIS TECHNOLOGY, HOW EASILY OR HOW EASY IS IT TO MOVE THE TECHNOLOGY AROUND THE WAY, THE WAY THIS CURRENT, THE WAY SHOT SPOTTER AS A COMPANY WORKS IS WE CONTRACT FOR THE AREA WHERE WE WANT IT, AND THEN THEY GO OUT AND PUT THE SENSORS, THEY OWN 'EM, THEY KNOW WHERE THEY ARE, THEY MAP 'EM OUT. 
          I KNOW THE FIVE SQUARE MILES AT SOUTHEAST, I THINK HAS OVER 150 SENSORS IN THAT AREA. 
          I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE THEY ALL ARE. 
          THEY PUT THEM OUT THERE, THEY CONTRACT WITH PRIVATE BUSINESSES, THEY PUT SOME OF 'EM ON CITY FACILITIES, SOME OF 'EM ON CENTER POINT LIGHT POLES THAT PUT 'EM IN DIFFERENT PLACES. 
          AND TO HAVE THEM MOVED, WE WOULD HAVE TO CONTACT THE COMPANY AND SAY, OKAY, WE'VE CHANGED OUR MIND. 
          WE WANT TO GO TO A DIFFERENT AREA NOW. 
          AND THERE WOULD BE A COST. 
          UH, SO IT WOULD BE THEM COMING OUT AND DEPLOYING ADDITIONAL SENSORS OR MOVING SENSORS TO A NEW AREA. 
          AND SO IF WE EVER HAVE AN AREA WHERE WE JUST ARE GETTING ABSOLUTELY NO ALERTS, WE WOULD LOOK AT DOING SOMETHING LIKE THAT. 
          AND SO, UM, YOU SAID THAT THE CALL FOR SERVICE IN THE AREA WHERE, UM, THE SPOT SHOTTER WAS OR SHOT SPOTTER WAS, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU SAW A DECREASE OF CALLS FOR SERVICE. 
          UM, BUT WE KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE SMART . 
          AND SO HAVE WE SEEN CALLS FOR SERVICE GO UP IN OTHER AREAS BECAUSE PEOPLE MOVE AWAY FROM THE TECHNOLOGY? OR HAVE YOU SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THAT? SO YOU GOT AHEAD OF ME. 
          I HAVE, I HAVE PEOPLE LOOKING AT THAT RIGHT NOW, BUT I DON'T ACTUALLY HAVE THAT INFORMATION. 
          UH, WHAT WE WERE GONNA LOOK AT IS ALL OF THE AREA AROUND, SPECIFICALLY IN SOUTHEAST HOUSTON. 
          'CAUSE THAT'S WHERE WE HAVE THE MOST DATA. 
          WE WERE GONNA LOOK AT THE SURROUNDING AREAS TO SEE WHAT WE, WE SEE, UH, THE HOPE WOULD BE THAT THERE'S EVEN SOME PERIPHERAL SPREADING EFFECT BECAUSE NOBODY KNOWS EXACTLY WHERE THE BOUNDARY IS. 
          UH, BUT I HAVE, I DON'T HAVE THAT DATA RIGHT NOW, BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT I'M LOOKING AT. 
          AND JUST FOR THE PUBLIC'S KNOWLEDGE, THE REASON WHY THAT SPECIFIC LOCATIONS ARE NOT PUBLISHED IS BECAUSE, SO THAT IT'S NOT CLEAR EXACTLY WHERE THEY ARE. 
          CORRECT. 
          WE JUST KNOW REGIONALLY WHERE THEY ARE. 
          YEAH. 
          FOR OPERATIONAL REASONS. 
          WE'LL, WE LIKE TO TALK ABOUT IT IN GENERAL TERMS OF WHERE IT'S LOCATED BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, UH, GIVEN THAT PART OF IT IS TO GET INTELLIGENCE ON ACTUAL GUN CRIME AND ALSO CATCH PEOPLE WHO ARE COMMITTING CRIME WITH FIREARMS, WE DON'T WANNA TELL 'EM WHERE NOT TO GO NECESSARILY. 
          UH, SO THAT THE SYSTEM BECOMES LESS EFFECTIVE. 
          YEAH. 
          UH, NEXT IN THE QUEUE STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS'S OFFICE, UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE. 
          I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS. 
          CERTAINLY. 
          UM, SO I KNOW WE ALREADY DISCUSSED THE CONTRACTOR, BUT DID YOU HAVE THE COST OF TECHNOLOGY IF THE COUN COUNCIL MEMBER OFFICES PURCHASED IT VERSUS ANY OUTSIDE ENTITY? UH, I BELIEVE IT'S THE SAME. 
          THE, THE, THE CO THE AMOUNT PER SQUARE MILE PER YEAR THAT WE WERE LOOKING AT WHEN WE FIRST CONTRACTED, AND THIS MAY HAVE CHANGED, I HAVEN'T SEEN AN UPDATED QUOTE WAS APPROXIMATELY $74,000 PER SQUARE MILE. 
          AND THAT'S A YEAR, THAT'S A PER YEAR SUBSCRIPTION. 
          UH, THAT'S ALL THE SENSORS, THAT'S THE 24 HOUR MONITORING AND EVERYTHING THAT YOU GET FOR THAT. 
          BUT THAT WAS THE APPROXIMATE COST. 
          OKAY, GREAT. 
          AND YOU 
          [00:30:01]
SAID THAT THAT INCLUDE THE MAINTENANCE AS WELL, RIGHT? YES. 
          OKAY. 
          WE, WE DON'T OWN ANY OF THE SENSORS. 
          WE DON'T OWN ANY OF THE INFORMATION. 
          IT'S A CONTRACT FOR SERVICE WITH THE COMPANY. 
          THEY TAKE CARE OF ALL OF IT. 
          IF SENSORS GO DOWN, IF SOMETHING QUITS WORKING, WE MAKE THEM AWARE, OR IF THEY BECOME AWARE, IT'S THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO REPAIR IT QUICKLY AND GET IT DONE. 
          GOT IT. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          AND I KNOW THAT WE ALSO CANNOT DISCLOSE WHERE THE, UM, WHERE THE SHOT SPOTTERS ARE, BUT WHAT'S THE AVERAGE TIME, IF YOU CAN DISCLOSE THIS, OF ROTATING THE TECHNOLOGY? OF ROTATING THE TECHNOLOGY? YES, PUTTING IT IN DIFFERENT AREAS THROUGHOUT THE CITY. 
          UH, IF, IF WE DE WE HAVEN'T DONE IT YET, BUT, UH, TALKING TO THE COMPANY, ONCE WE HAD OUR AREA DETERMINED WHERE IT WAS GONNA BE, UH, IT TOOK THEM LESS THAN TWO MONTHS TO GET THE WHOLE A HUNDRED SOME SENSORS OUT. 
          AND THAT INCLUDED HAVING TO CONTRACT WITH CENTER POINT, HAVING TO CONTRACT WITH PRIVATE BUSINESSES TO GET PERMISSION. 
          BUT IT TOOK 'EM LESS THAN TWO MONTHS TO DEPLOY ALL OF THE SENSORS ONCE WE DETERMINED WHERE THE AREA WAS GOING TO BE. 
          UH, SO WHEN WE TELL 'EM WHERE WE WANT IT, I, I DON'T THINK IT'S A VERY, IT'S A, IT'S A PRETTY SHORT TURNAROUND TO GET IT MOVED IF WE HAD TO, BUT THERE, BUT THERE IS A COST INVOLVED, OBVIOUSLY. 
          YES. 
          UM, THAT'S GREAT. 
          AND THEN I HAD JUST A CLARIFYING QUESTION. 
          SO IF YOU GO BACK TO YOUR SLIDE THAT TALKS ABOUT, I WANNA SAY IT'S SLIDE SIX, THE TOTAL AVAILABLE ALERTS VERSUS THE PUBLISH ALERTS. 
          SO THERE'S ABOUT A TWO THIRDS DIFFERENCE IN, UM, WHAT IS REPORTED VERSUS WHENEVER YOU REVIEW WHAT IS ACTUALLY SENT THE RESULTS PUBLISHED VERSUS AVAILABLE VERSUS TOTAL. 
          YES. 
          YES. 
          MM-HMM . 
          TOTAL AVAIL. 
          SO WHAT IS THAT REALLY STATING? DOES THAT MEAN THAT YOU ARE GETTING AN OVERWHELMING AMOUNT OF ALERTS THAT AREN'T NECESSARILY VALID? NO, ACTUALLY THE, THE 5,450 ALERTS WERE THE ONES THAT WERE PUBLISHED TO US AS A CALL. 
          THEY CAME TO OUR OFFICER CELL PHONES, THEY CAME TO OUR COMPUTERS, THEY WENT TO OUR DISPATCH CENTER AS A CALL FOR SERVICE, THE 15,449 AVAILABLE ALERTS THAT INCLUDES ALERTS THAT ARE, LET'S SAY, JUST IN THE PERIPHERY AROUND THE AREA THAT WE'VE CONTRACTED FOR. 
          BUT THEY'RE FAR ENOUGH AWAY. 
          THAT SHOT SPOTTER IS NOT CONFIDENT ENOUGH IN THE LOCATION TO TELL US ABOUT IT AS A CALL, BUT THEY DO PUBLISH IT IN AN, IN AN ANALYTICAL PROGRAM THAT THEY CALL INSIGHT, WHICH OUR PERSONNEL HAVE ACCESS TO. 
          SO WE CAN GO IN THERE EVERY DAY AND SEE THE OTHER GUNFIRE THAT'S OCCURRING AROUND THE AREA, UH, JUST NOT ACTUALLY IN THE AREA. 
          AND REASON BEING, LIKE I SAID, IS THAT THEY'RE CONCERNED ABOUT THE, THE LEVEL OF ACCURACY ONCE YOU'VE GOTTEN OUTSIDE THE COVERAGE AREA OF THE SENSORS. 
          SO AS YOU CAN SEE, YES, OUR FIVE SQUARE MILE AREA THAT WE'RE IN HAS A LOT OF GUNFIRE, BUT THAT COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE HAS A SIGNIFICANT GUNFIRE PROBLEM. 
          AND 'CAUSE YOU'RE SEEING THOSE, THOSE ARE ONLY WITHIN PROBABLY A HALF A MILE OR SO OF THE EDGES OF WHERE OUR COVERAGE AREA IS OR WHERE YOU'RE GONNA SEE THESE ALERTS. 
          SO THE FIVE SQUARE MILES PLUS ABOUT A QUARTER TO A HALF A MILE BUFFER AROUND, IT'S WHERE YOU'RE SEEING THESE ADDITIONAL ALERTS AND IT'S VERY DENSE. 
          IF YOU SEE IT ON A MAP, IT'S VERY DENSE. 
          YOU LOOK AT IT AND YOU GO, WHERE IS THERE NOT GUNFIRE? AND, AND IT, IT'S KIND OF DAUNTING TO SEE, UH, FOR THE OFFICERS THAT WORK THAT AREA, KNOWING THAT, THAT THAT'S GOING ON WHERE THEY WORK. 
          YOU KNOW, IT'S SOMETHING THAT, UH, YOUR GOOD OFFICERS OUT THERE CARE ABOUT AND THEY WANNA DO SOMETHING ABOUT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          CERTAINLY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND UM, CHIEF, BECAUSE YOU MENTIONED THAT THIS IS PRIVATE TECHNOLOGY OWNED BY SHOT SPOTTER ITSELF, RIGHT? CORRECT. 
          WE'RE A CONTRACTOR. 
          I JUST WANNA BE CLEAR FOR THE RECORD, 'CAUSE WE'VE HAD THESE CONVERSATIONS BEFORE. 
          UM, THERE'S NO RECORDINGS THAT ARE KEPT, THINGS OF THAT NATURE. 
          CAN YOU JUST WALK THROUGH AGAIN FOR THE PUBLIC'S KNOWLEDGE OF, UH, WHAT THE COMPANY DOES WITH THAT INFORMATION? YES, CORRECT. 
          YEAH, IT'S KINDA LIKE, YEAH, WHO HAS AN AMAZON ECHO OR A GOOGLE HOME IN THEIR HOUSE? OKAY. 
          I, I'M WILLING TO, TO LET IT BE SITTING THERE LISTENING TO ME. 
          SO I CAN TELL IT'S TO TURN MY LIGHTS ON AND OFF. 
          IT'S THE SAME KIND OF THING. 
          THE SENSORS ARE ALWAYS LISTENING, BUT THEY'RE LOCAL SENSORS. 
          THEY'RE NOT BROADCASTING. 
          THAT LOCAL SENSOR IS ALWAYS LISTENING TO WHAT'S GOING ON AROUND IT ON A ROTATING BASIS. 
          IT ONLY CAPTURES THOUGH, WHEN GUNFIRE OCCURS, IT CAPTURES APPROXIMATELY A TEN SECOND CLIP THAT INCLUDES THE GUNFIRE AND IT BROADCASTS THAT CLIP TO SHOT SPOTTER AT THEIR OFFICE. 
          SO THAT'S THE ONLY THING THAT EVER GOES BACK TO THEIR DISPATCH, TO THEIR CENTER IS THAT CLIP OF GUNFIRE. 
          THE REST OF IT STAYS LOCALLY ON THE SENSOR AND IS OVERWRITTEN USUALLY WITHIN 24 HOURS. 
          IT'S A CONSTANT ROLL TAPE AND THE COMPANY, AND IT'S ACTUALLY HELD UP IN CHALLENGE. 
          THEY WILL NOT PROVIDE THAT DATA. 
          THEY'RE LIKE, WE DON'T HAVE IT. 
          IT'S NOT IN OUR SYSTEM. 
          IT'S WAY OUT THERE ON THE MICROPHONE. 
          WE'RE NOT GOING TO GET IT. 
          AND THEY WON'T GIVE IT TO US. 
          THEY WON'T GIVE IT TO ANYBODY. 
          UH, IT'S, IT'S DELIBERATELY DONE THAT WAY TO AVOID THE SITUATION WHERE PEOPLE WOULD BELIEVE THAT WE'RE SITTING THERE JUST RECORDING THEM IN THE COMMUNITY. 
          'CAUSE WE DON'T WANT THAT. 
          WE WANT PEOPLE TO FEEL SAFE IN THEIR COMMUNITIES, BUT WE ALSO WANNA RESPECT THEIR PRIVACY. 
          AND SO THE ONLY PART THAT EVER GETS SENT AND KEPT IS THE TEN SECOND CLIP OF THE GUNFIRE ITSELF. 
          THE THINGS THAT WE'VE HEARD ON IT THAT ARE NOT GUNFIRE. 
          WE DID HEAR PEOPLE SCREAMING ONE TIME. 
          UH, IT WAS AN ACTUAL SHOOTING THAT WAS 
          [00:35:01]
CAPTURED AND YOU COULD HEAR PEOPLE RUNNING AND SCREAMING FAINTLY IN THE BACKGROUND. 
          BUT THE PRIMARY THING THAT YOU HEAR IS GUNFIRE ON THOSE CLIPS. 
          GREAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          A FEW QUICK FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS ON MY END. 
          UM, THIS IS A, A LOT OF MONEY THAT WE ARE SAYING THAT WE ARE SPENDING AND IT'S TAXPAYER DOLLARS. 
          UM, ARE WE LEARNING ANYTHING FROM THIS TECHNOLOGY THAT WE HAVEN'T LEARNED BEFORE? THIS IS GIVING US A VERY ACCURATE MAP OF WHERE OUR WORST GUNFIRE PROBLEMS ARE IN THE AREAS WHERE IT IS DEPLOYED. 
          UH, THAT IS THE BIGGEST THING THAT WE'VE SEEN IS AS FAR AS LEARNING SOMETHING WE DIDN'T KNOW BEFORE IS THE VOLUME AND THE LOCATIONS OF GUNFIRE. 
          'CAUSE SOME OF THE AREAS THAT, THAT ARE DENSE ON THE MAP, WE LOOK AT AND PATROL OFFICERS OUT THERE ARE LIKE, YEAH, OF COURSE I'M OUT THERE EVERY DAY. 
          OTHERS WERE LOOKING AT IT GOING, OKAY, I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THAT. 
          YOU KNOW, THAT THERE'S A LOT OF GUNFIRE GOING ON OVER YOUR HOUSE, UNAWARE. 
          SO WE, WE HAVE SEEN A GOOD MAP OF WHERE GUNFIRE IS OCCURRING IN THE COMMUNITY. 
          YOU CAN SEE IT MOVE OVER TIME. 
          LIKE IF WE REALLY START ADDRESSING A PARTICULAR AREA, YOU CAN SEE IT POP UP SOMEWHERE ELSE AND, AND MOVE AROUND. 
          'CAUSE YOU CAN LOOK AT THE MAPPING AND JUST THE FACT THAT IT'S ALLOWED US TO RESPOND SO MUCH MORE QUICKLY. 
          WE'VE GOTTEN A LOT OF INTEL, A LOT OF EVIDENCE THAT'S GONE TO THE NIBIN SYSTEM. 
          THERE HAVE BEEN JUST IN THE FIRST YEAR, I DON'T, THIS IS ONE THING I DON'T HAVE UPDATED STATS ON, BUT JUST IN THE FIRST YEAR WE HAD OVER 250, UH, N IBIN HITS, NOT JUST ENTRY, BUT TIMES WHEN WE WOULD ENTER A SHELL CASING FROM A SCOTT SPOTTER CALL AND IT WOULD BE MATCHED UP WITH ANOTHER SHELL CASING FROM SOME OTHER CRIME. 
          SO IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, YOU HAD A ROBBERY WHERE SOMEONE USED A A FIREARM AND WE RECOVERED A SHELL CASING. 
          WELL THEN JUST ON A TUESDAY OVER HERE, SOMEONE'S OUT IN THE BAYOU BEHIND A HOUSE AND THEY'RE SHOOTING OFF A GUN AND WE GO AND COLLECT A SHELL CASING AND IT MATCHES THE GUN USED IN THAT ROBBERY. 
          WELL, THAT'S ANOTHER PIECE OF INFORMATION FOR THAT ROBBERY DETECTIVE TO USE. 
          OKAY. 
          SOMEONE WHO IS IN THIS AREA OVER HERE IS JUST SHOOTING OFF THIS GUN OUT HERE IN THE BAYOU. 
          MAYBE THEY'RE PRACTICING, MAYBE THEY LIVE IN THE AREA. 
          IT CAN GIVE THEM THAT EXTRA PIECE OF INFORMATION THEY MAY HAVE TO MOVE A CASE FORWARD. 
          SO IT'S BEEN VERY BENEFICIAL SO FAR. 
          GREAT. 
          AND ARE WE SEEING ANYTHING AS IT RELATES TO THE TYPES OF FIREARMS THAT WE ARE SEEING ON THE STREETS RIGHT NOW AND WHAT, UM, THE CHALLENGES ARE FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT IN ADDITION TO THOSE IN THE COMMUNITY THAT ARE FACED WITH THIS LEVEL AND EXTENT OF GUN VIOLENCE? WE ARE, IT IS NOT NECESSARILY SOMETHING THAT WE'RE SPECIFICALLY SEEING BECAUSE OF THIS PROGRAM. 
          UH, WE'VE, WE'RE TRACKING ALL THE DIFFERENT TRENDS IN FIREARM MODIFICATION THAT YOU SEE, UH, YOU'VE HEARD OF A GLOCK SWITCH. 
          YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE VERY FIRST ALERTS WE RECORDED, RECORDED ON SHOTSPOTTER, ONE OF THE PIECES OF INFORMATION THAT IT GIVES TO THE OFFICER IS IF IT THINKS THERE'S MULTIPLE SHOOTERS, UH, IF IT'S A HIGH CAPACITY FIREARM OR IF IT'S A FULLY AUTOMATIC WEAPON. 
          AND ONE OF THE FIRST ALERTS THAT WE RECORDED WHEN WE WENT LIVE WITH THE PILOT WAS SOMEONE FIRING A FULLY AUTOMATIC WEAPON IN SOUTHEAST HOUSTON. 
          YOU KNOW, BASICALLY A MACHINE GUN IN SOUTHEAST HOUSTON. 
          AND SO IT TELLS THE OFFICER THAT IT GIVES 'EM THAT INFORMATION GOING FORWARD WHEN THEY RESPOND. 
          UH, I THINK IT'S ACTUALLY INCREASED THEIR SAFETY ON THAT BECAUSE THEY RESPOND KNOWING FULL WELL WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO, AND THEY CAN APPROACH WITH CAUTION. 
          UH, IT HAS NOT BEEN WHAT SOME PEOPLE HAVE SAID, OH, THEY'RE GONNA GO IN THERE JUST GUNS DRAWN, TAKING EVERYBODY DOWN. 
          THAT'S NOT ACTUALLY WHAT THEY DO WHEN THEY KNOW THERE'S BEEN GUNFIRE. 
          THEY APPROACH WITH THE, WITH THE SUFFICIENT LEVEL OF CAUTION THAT WE HAVE IN THE TWO YEARS OF THE SYSTEM. 
          WE HAD ONE OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTING THAT RELATED TO A SHOT SPOTTER ALERT, UH, THAT WAS ON SOUTHEAST. 
          IT WAS A CHRISTMAS AT THE END OF THE PILOT. 
          UH, AND WE BELIEVE THAT INDIVIDUAL KNEW THAT SHOT SPOTTER WAS IN THAT AREA AND ACTUALLY WANTED TO BRING THE OFFICERS IN. 
          'CAUSE WHEN THEY RESPONDED, HE IMMEDIATELY OPENED FIRE ON THEM. 
          HE DIDN'T EVEN WAIT. 
          UH, SO THAT WAS, UH, I THINK WE BELIEVE THAT WAS A TARGETED SITUATION. 
          SO, UH, THAT'S BEEN WHAT WE'RE SEEING. 
          UH, GLOCK SWITCHES, UH, MODIFICATIONS OF HANDGUNS TO MAKE THEM FULLY AUTOMATIC MODIFICATION OF RIFLES TO MAKE THEM FULLY AUTOMATIC. 
          UH, THE ADVENT OF 3D PRINTERS HAS MADE THAT EASIER TO DO. 
          UH, WE'RE, WE'RE SEEING A LOT OF THAT ON THE STREET. 
          WE'VE HAD SHOOTINGS WITH ALL WHERE OFFICERS HAVE BEEN CONFRONTED WITH FULLY AUTOMATIC WEAPONS. 
          SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT'S DEFINITELY A CONCERN TO OUR PERSONNEL. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND LASTLY, AGAIN, GOING BACK TO THE AMOUNT OF DOLLARS THAT WE'RE INVESTING IN THIS, IN YOUR OPINION, BASED ON THE INFORMATION WE HAVE THUS FAR, IS THE TECHNOLOGY WORTH WHAT WE'RE PAYING FOR IT RIGHT NOW, FROM YOUR OPINION AND WHERE YOU'RE SITTING? I, I BELIEVE THAT IT IS. 
          IF WE'RE, IF WE'RE GOING OFF MY OPINION, THE INFORMATION THAT WE'RE GETTING ABOUT THE GUNFIRE AND THE COMMUNITY, THE COMMUNITY CONFIDENCE THAT WE GET FROM OFFICERS RESPONDING AS QUICKLY AS THEY DO, UH, THE, THE LIVES THAT HAVE BEEN SAVED, IT'S HARD TO PUT A PRICE TAG ON THAT. 
          I BELIEVE THAT IT HAS BEEN WORTHWHILE. 
          YES. 
          GREAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, I SEE WE HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION FROM, UH, UM, YES TO PIG TO THAT I JUST WANTED TO ASK. 
          UM, OPINIONS ARE GREAT AND, AND YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A LOT OF EVIDENCE THAT THIS IS WORKING. 
          BUT DO YOU PLAN ON PUTTING OUT ANY OFFICIAL REPORT, A COST BENEFIT AND ANALYSIS TO SUPPORT WHAT WE ARE HEARING FROM YOU? UH, THIS TYPE OF UPDATE IS KIND OF WHAT WE WERE ANTICIPATING 
          [00:40:01]
DOING IS, IS WE'RE, UH, I HAD TO HAVE AN ANALYST, YOU KNOW, ONE OFF GENERATE THE INFORMATION FOR THIS MEETING. 
          BUT THE INTENT IS TO TAKE WHAT WE'VE GOT HERE AS A BASELINE AND BUILD A, A CONSTANTLY UPDATED REPORT OF SUCCESSES AND THINGS THAT WE'VE SEEN FROM THE SYSTEM AS WE INTEGRATE THIS SYSTEM INTO OUR OTHER COMPUTER SYSTEMS. SEE, RIGHT NOW, AND I'M GONNA SAY A WORD HERE, RMS UH, OUR CURRENT SYSTEMS, OUR CAD, OUR RMS, THE SYSTEMS DON'T TALK. 
          EVERYTHING THAT I'VE PRESENTED YOU TODAY WAS MANUALLY GENERATED BY AN OFFICER SITTING THERE READING REPORT AFTER REPORT AFTER REPORT TRYING TO TALLY UP THIS INFORMATION. 
          UH, AS WE GO FORWARD WITH NEW TECHNOLOGY, THIS WILL INTEGRATE AND IT'LL BE MORE OF A SHOW ME HOW MANY TIMES THIS HAS BEEN EFFECT BEEN IN EFFECT, HOW MANY TIMES IT IS RELATED TO SOMETHING. 
          SO THERE WASN'T A SPECIFIC INTENT TO PUT TOGETHER A FIXED COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS. 
          'CAUSE IT, IT'S HARD TO TIE THE NUMBER TO A STAT. 
          IT'S LIKE, WHICH, WHICH STAT IS THE VALUE? UH, YOU KNOW, I'VE, I'VE HAD PEOPLE SAY, WELL, YOU SHOULD JUST SAY HOW MANY ARRESTS DO YOU HAVE AND HOW MUCH DID WAS IT PER ARREST? BUT ARRESTS AREN'T THE ONLY THING THAT WE GET OUT OF IT. 
          UH, YOU KNOW, IT, IT'S A, IT'S A DIFFICULT THING TO JUST SAY THIS MANY DOLLARS, THIS MUCH SUCCESS, WHICH SUCCESS ARE YOU GONNA USE TO MEASURE THE DOLLARS? BUT WE DO PLAN ON HAVING THIS REPORT THAT WE'RE DOING NOW OR A SIMILAR REPORT CONSTANTLY UPDATED. 
          AND THEN AS WE ADVANCE NEW TECHNOLOGY, UH, WE'LL HAVE IT INTEGRATED IN A WAY THAT IT MAKES IT EASIER TO DO LESS MANPOWER INTENSIVE. 
          SO. 
          OKAY. 
          GREAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          CERTAINLY. 
          THANK YOU CHIEF, AND AGAIN, OUR APPRECIATION FOR THE TIME THAT IT TAKES TO PULL THIS DATA. 
          YES. 
          I'M GLAD. 
          I KNOW WE CAN'T TALK ABOUT IT, BUT I'M VERY GLAD YOU DID BRING UP RMS AND CAD BECAUSE THAT IS SOMETHING THAT IS DESPERATELY NEEDED. 
          VERY MUCH SO. 
          UM, AS WE WORK, NOT JUST WITH THIS TECHNOLOGY BUT HOLISTICALLY AND ADDRESSING PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, WE NEED THAT, THOSE UPGRADES. 
          UH, AND SO THANK YOU FOR RAISING THAT. 
          UH, I THINK THE NUMBERS ARE STARTLING IN TERMS OF, AS COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN POINTED OUT WHAT WE'RE SEEING. 
          UM, BUT I APPRECIATE YOUR POINT THAT IT'S NOT JUST THE RAW NUMBERS WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE EVIDENCE THAT'S BEING INPUTTED INTO NEIGHBORS AND ALL OF THE DIFFERENT FACT FINDING THAT TOGETHER COLLECTIVELY PUTS TOGETHER A PUZZLE THAT, UH, OR A PICTURE THAT YOU MAY NOT HAVE OTHERWISE HAD. 
          RIGHT. 
          UH, INCLUDING I'M GOING TO ASSUME HOW TO ALLOCATE LAW ENFORCEMENT RESOURCES BASED ON WHAT WE'RE SEEING WITH TECHNOLOGY LIKE THIS. 
          IS IT HELPING ASSIST WITH THOSE KIND OF PATROL ROUTES AND DIVISIONS AND RESOURCE ALLOCATIONS ELSEWHERE? RIGHT. 
          E EACH OF OUR PATROL COMMANDERS, THEY'RE GIVEN A CERTAIN NUMBER OF RESOURCES AND TOLD TO GO OUT AND USE THEM. 
          THIS DATA GIVES THAT PATROL COMMANDER SOMETHING TO HANG HIS HAT ON AND SAY, WELL, LOOK AT WHAT'S HAPPENING IN MY COMMUNITY. 
          I NEED MORE PEOPLE, OR I'M GONNA MOVE PEOPLE FROM THIS BEAT OVER TO THIS OTHER BEAT BECAUSE I'VE GOT MORE GOING ON OVER HERE. 
          SO WE DO USE THIS TYPE OF INFORMATION TO ROUTE OUR PERSONNEL. 
          WE USE IT TO DETERMINE WHERE THEY NEED TO BE. 
          UH, THE LEVEL OF CALLS DOES THAT. 
          UH, AND WE TRY, WHILE EVERY SINGLE CRIME THAT HAPPENS IN CITY IS SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO US, UH, OUR RESOURCES ARE LIMITED AND WE TRY TO PUT AS MUCH EMPHASIS ON VIOLENCE AND THINGS THAT COULD AFFECT PEOPLE'S LIVES AS AS WE CAN. 
          AND SO THIS HAS BEEN A, A GOOD WAY TO TARGET THOSE RESOURCES. 
          YES. 
          GREAT. 
          CHIEF, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION AND THE UPDATE. 
          I KNOW WE HAVE A FEW FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS THAT WE'LL GET BACK TO COUNCIL ON. 
          OKAY. 
          YEAH. 
          ANY THANK YOU AND JUST LET ME KNOW. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          THANK YOU. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          AT THIS TIME, UH, THE CHAIR'S GONNA RECOGNIZE, UH, CEO OF THE FORENSIC SCIENCE CENTER, DR. STOUT. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON Y'ALL. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON. 
          GO BACK. 
          ONE SLIDE. 
          THERE WE GO. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          SO YEAH. 
          UM, PETER STOUT, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF HOUSTON FORENSIC SCIENCE CENTER. 
          UM, I AM A TOXICOLOGIST BY TRAINING. 
          I THINK I'VE TALKED WITH MOST ALL OF YOU. 
          I THINK I'VE HAD MOST ALL OF YOU OVER TO THE LABORATORY FOR A VISIT AT SOME POINT. 
          UM, THIS IS I GUESS NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          THERE WHILE WE'RE WIRED, THUMBING THROUGH, UH, I PUT IN JUST AT THE START JUST TO REMIND PEOPLE OF WHERE HOUSTON'S STARTED FROM. 
          AND I THOUGHT IT WAS KIND OF REMARKABLE THAT THIS HEADLINE, WHICH STARTED A LOT OF IT, UH, NEW YORK TIMES HEADLINE, THE WORST CRIME LAB IN THE COUNTRY WAS ALMOST EXACTLY 20 YEARS AGO. 
          UH, NEXT YEAR WILL BE THE 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF HFSC, TAKING OVER MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS OF THE LABORATORY. 
          AND I REALLY CAN'T STRESS ENOUGH HOW UNIQUE THIS IS OF WHAT HAPPENED, WHAT'S HAPPENED HERE IN HOUSTON, THAT THE CITY TOOK A REALLY REMARKABLE STEP OF TRYING TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT WITH THE CRIME LABORATORY AND THE SUPPORT THAT HPD AND THE DA'S OFFICE AND THE CITY HAVE PROVIDED HAVE REALLY TURNED THIS INTO SOMETHING THAT'S NO LONGER THOSE HEADLINES. 
          UM, AND I, 
          [00:45:01]
I AM OFTEN INVITED TO TALK MANY PLACES ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENED HERE. 
          AND THIS IS THE EXAMPLE OF IF YOU LET IT BREAK, IT TAKES DECADES TO FIX. 
          SO, UM, A LOT OF WHAT I'VE GOT HERE TODAY IS KIND OF GRIM. 
          SO START WITH THIS OF REALIZE AND TAKE SOME REAL PRIDE IN THE FACT OF WHAT HAS HAPPENED HERE AND HOW FAR WE HAVE COME SINCE THAT HEADLINE. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          SO ONE OF MY HATS THAT I WEAR, I AM PRESIDENT OF THE TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF CRIME LAB DIRECTORS, AND AS SUCH, I AM DEALING WITH THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION. 
          AND SO I HAD SURVEYED LABORATORIES ACROSS THE STATE HERE JUST RECENTLY ABOUT SOME OF THE, WHERE WE'RE AT IN TERMS OF LABS IN THE STATE. 
          SO I ALSO WANTED TO GIVE YOU JUST A LITTLE BIT OF PERSPECTIVE OF WHERE WE SIT WITH OUR LABORATORY RELATIVE TO THE REST OF THE STATE. 
          ACROSS THE STATE IS ABOUT $140 MILLION A YEAR THAT ARE SPENT ON FORENSIC SERVICES. 
          AND THERE'S A COUPLE OF, UM, STUDIES THAT I CITE DOWN THERE AT THE BOTTOM OF IT. 
          ONE OF 'EM IS THE PROJECT FORESIGHT, WHICH HAS BEEN RUN FOR ALMOST 20 YEARS NOW. 
          AND WE WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY. 
          AND IT IS BASICALLY THE CLOSEST THING WE HAVE TO A BENCHMARK IN THE FORENSIC INDUSTRY OF A LOT OF THESE THINGS. 
          IT'S IMPERFECT DATA, BUT IT IS THAT, THAT'S PRETTY MUCH IT. 
          IF WE LOOK ACROSS, UH, THE DATA THAT'S COLLECTED IN THERE, WE WOULD ESTIMATE THAT TEXAS ACTUALLY NEEDS ABOUT THREE TIMES AS MUCH THE INVESTMENT FOR THE POPULATION OF TEXAS. 
          RIGHT NOW WE SEE ABOUT 200,000 REQUESTS A YEAR TO THOSE FORENSIC LABORATORIES, WHICH IS LESS THAN HALF OF WHAT WE WOULD EXPECT PER CAPITA BASED ON NATIONAL FIGURES. 
          AND, UM, THAT'S DONE BY ABOUT 1300 PERSONNEL. 
          SO OUR ONE LABORATORY WE'RE ABOUT 200 PERSONNEL. 
          WE REPRESENT MORE THAN 10% OF THE ENTIRE FORENSIC ENDEAVOR IN THE STATE. 
          WE ARE A GIGANTIC LABORATORY IN THIS STATE. 
          UM, THE OTHER THING I POINT OUT IN THERE IS ON AVERAGE LABORATORIES ACROSS THE STATE HAVE A GRAND TOTAL OF ABOUT $650 PER REQUEST. 
          IN ORDER TO DO EVERYTHING ON THOSE, UH, FROM THOSE FORESIGHT DATA, THE MINIMUM ESTIMATE ACROSS THE COUNTRY IS ABOUT $1,200 PER REQUEST. 
          SO TEXAS STRUGGLES. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          ALRIGHT, SO START WITH GOOD NEWS HERE. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          UM, IT'S ACTUALLY BEEN PRETTY REMARKABLE THIS YEAR, GIVEN EVERYTHING THAT'S OUT THERE. 
          THE OVERALL BACKLOG OF THE LABORATORY HAS GONE DOWN BY 20%. 
          UH, THAT IS MOSTLY BECAUSE OF A REDUCTION IN THE LATENT PRINT BACKLOG. 
          SO THOSE ARE FINGERPRINTS. 
          UH, OUR CRIME SCENE UNIT AND IN DRUG TOXICOLOGY. 
          AND YOU CAN SEE THOSE BACKLOGS HAVE GONE DOWN PRETTY SUBSTANTIALLY ACROSS THE YEAR. 
          UH, THE MOST SUBSTANTIAL IS CRIME SCENE. 
          THEY HAVE DONE A REMARKABLE JOB OF BASICALLY ELIMINATING THE BACKLOG OF BACKLOG REPORTS THAT THEY'VE HAD THERE. 
          SO IT'S TERRIFIC. 
          WE'RE REALLY PROUD OF THIS. 
          IT'S ENCOURAGING. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          A LOT OF THAT HAS BEEN POSSIBLE BECAUSE OF THE $3 MILLION IN ARPA MONEY THAT WE HAD OUT OF THE WIND SAVEE HOUSTON PROGRAM. 
          WITH THAT, WE HAVE USED, UH, MONEY FOR ABOUT 1600 HOURS OF OVERTIME, PREDOMINANTLY IN CRIME SCENE, UH, AND ALSO IN OUR FIREARMS UNIT. 
          AND CHIEF MENTIONED ABOUT N IBAN. 
          WE, UH, HAVE A COMPONENT OF NB. 
          THERE'S ACTUALLY MULTIPLE POINTS HERE IN HARRIS COUNTY WHERE, UH, EVIDENCE ENTERED IN IS NIVAN. 
          WE BASICALLY ENTER THE GUNS THEMSELVES. 
          UH, BUT THAT OVER TIME HAS BEEN ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL IN US MAINTAINING A SIX DAY TURNAROUND TIME ON THOSE NIVAN RESULTS. 
          ONE OF THE THINGS WITH N IBAN INFORMATION IS IT AGES VERY QUICKLY. 
          IT'S OF REALLY IMPORTANT INVESTIGATIVE USE, BUT IT GETS, IT GOES STALE REALLY QUICK. 
          UM, GUNS MOVE AROUND, THEY SHIFT HANDS. 
          UH, IF YOU DON'T HAVE THOSE RESULTS BACK IN DAYS TO MAYBE WEEKS, IT'S KIND OF NOT MUCH WORTH ANYTHING. 
          SO THAT OVERTIME'S BEEN ESSENTIAL FOR US KEEPING UP WITH ABOUT 7,000 GUNS THAT WE PROCESSED LAST YEAR. 
          UH, WE'VE USED MONEY IN THERE TO OUTSOURCE THE DRUG TOXICOLOGY BACKLOG. 
          SO THAT'S, WE ANALYZED DRUGS FOR, OH, THERE WE GO. 
          THEY WERE JUST TELLING ME WE DID, UH, ALMOST 7,200 NIBIN ENTRIES OF JUST US. 
          SO THAT'S ON TOP OF WHAT HPD HAS DONE ON THEIR SIDE WITH CASINGS. 
          UM, BUT DRUG TOXICOLOGY THAT'S ANALYZING BLOOD SAMPLES FOR THE PRESENCE OF DRUGS IN IMPAIRED DRIVING CASES. 
          WE'VE ANALYZED BOTH ALCOHOL AND DRUGS. 
          UH, WE'VE HAD A BACKLOG THAT BUILT UP, THANK YOU COVD, UH, BUT WE'VE OUTSOURCED 440 CASES. 
          THAT'S ABOUT THAT 29% DECREASE AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO OUTSOURCE CASES ACROSS THIS YEAR. 
          LAST PART OF WHAT WE HAVE BEEN USING ARPA MONEY FOR IS WE HAD A SUBSTANTIAL IMPACT TO RETENTION IN STAFF THIS LAST YEAR. 
          SO THAT CREATES AN ENORMOUS TRAINING COST FOR US. 
          SO WE HAVE BEEN 
          [00:50:01]
BASICALLY USING ARPA MONEY TO OFFSET THE COST OF SOME OF THAT TRAINING. 
          WE'VE PROVIDED SOMETHING NORTH OF 15,000 TRAINING HOURS OUT OF THAT THAT HAS ALREADY PUT TWO NEW LATENT PRINT PROCESSING ANALYSTS ONLINE. 
          SO THAT GOES INTO THAT LATENT PRINT BACKLOG. 
          WE'VE GOT ONE NEW NYMAN TECH THAT JUST CAME ONLINE THAT GOES TO THE NYMAN BACKLOG. 
          AND THEN WE'VE GOT SEVEN CSIS, TWO FIREARM EXAMINERS, ANOTHER NYMAN TECH, THREE C'S DRUGS ANALYST, AND A TOXICOLOGY SUPERVISOR THAT ARE ALL IN THE PROCESS OF TRAINING RIGHT NOW ON THOSE DOLLARS. 
          SO THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL TO US, UH, TO MAKE THE PROGRESS THAT WE'VE HAD. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          SO NOW THE BAD NEWS, SORRY. 
          UM, WELL, THIS YEAR, THIS LAST BEEN PRETTY ROUGH. 
          UH, AND I DO NOT FORESEE 2023 GETTING ANY LESS ROUGH, UH, THE COURT BACKLOG. 
          AND THAT IS GOT MYRIAD THREADS TO IT. 
          IT'S NOT JUST SIMPLY THE COURT DOES THIS, THIS AFFECTS THE DA'S OFFICE. 
          IT AFFECTS HPD, IT AFFECTS US IN LOTS OF DIFFERENT WAYS, BUT THAT COURT BACKLOG IS CREATING A CRITICAL PRESSURE ON ALL OF US. 
          UM, AND WE HAVE HAD SOME KEY PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES IN A NUMBER OF OUR SECTIONS. 
          UH, Y Y'ALL PAY ME TO WORRY. 
          I WORRY ABOUT ALL THE SECTIONS, BUT I WORRY PARTICULARLY ABOUT FORENSIC BIOLOGY, SEES DRUGS, MULTIMEDIA, FIREARMS, UM, AND THEN STAFFING AND RETENTION HAVE BEEN ENORMOUS PROBLEMS FOR US. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          SO, THE COURT IN PARTICULAR, HUH? THAT SLIDE'S NOT EXACTLY SHOWING UP THERE TERRIBLY WELL, UM, WHAT THAT GRAPH IS SHOWING YOU IS THE NUMBER OF SUBPOENAS THAT COME INTO THE LABORATORY IN THE LAST, UH, SEVEN YEARS. 
          LAST YEAR WE GOT 84% MORE SUBPOENAS THAN BEFORE THE PANDEMIC. 
          AND RELATIVE TO WHAT WAS GOING ON DURING THE PANDEMIC, I MEAN, IT'S MULTIPLE MULTIPLIERS OVER IT. 
          SO YEAH, WE GOT ABOUT 4,700 SUBPOENAS IN LAST YEAR. 
          WE DON'T TESTIFY IN ALL OF THOSE, BUT IT IS AN INDICATOR OF THE DEMAND FROM THE COURT, AND IT IS GOING THROUGH THE ROOF. 
          I DON'T EXPECT IT TO GO DOWN AT ALL. 
          BUT THOSE SUBPOENAS COME FROM THE DA'S OFFICE. 
          THEY'RE THE ONES THAT ARE THEN RESPONDING TO THE COURT DOCKETS. 
          IT'S THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          SO THE COUNTY IN RESPONDING TO, AND KEEP IN MIND, HARVEY DESTROYED THE COURTHOUSE. 
          SO THAT STARTED THE COURT BACKLOG, AND THEN COVID BASICALLY STALLED THE COURTS FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS. 
          AS THEY HAVE COME BACK, THE COUNTY HAS BEEN USING CO RELIEF DOLLARS TO CREATE EMERGENCY DOCKETS. 
          THEY'VE EXPANDED ADMINISTRATIVE COURT FUNCTIONS. 
          THEY'VE BASICALLY EXPANDED THE CAPACITY OF THE COURTS, WHICH IS TERRIFIC. 
          THEY SHOULD DO THIS. 
          THIS IS A VERY GOOD THING. 
          BUT THE PROBLEM IS THAT CREATES AN ENORMOUS DEMAND ON US AS THE LABORATORY, AS NOW THE PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE IS TRYING TO KEEP UP WITH THOSE DOCKETS. 
          AND THIS COMES IN MANY MULTIPLE WAYS. 
          THERE IS REQUESTS THAT COME FOR ADDITIONAL TESTING FROM THE PROSECUTORS. 
          THERE IS DEMANDS FOR TESTIMONY THAT COME FROM THE PROSECUTORS, BUT SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY CRAWLING UP ON US IS THE DEMAND FOR DOCUMENTATION. 
          SO ALL OF THE DOCUMENTS THAT WE PRODUCE NEED TO BE RELEASED IN DISCOVERY AND DOCUMENT REQUESTS. 
          AND SO WHAT THAT GRAPH IS SHOWING IS OVER THE LAST ABOUT EIGHT YEARS. 
          WHAT, AND NOW THERE'S ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS AND REQUESTS THAT I DIDN'T PUT ON THERE THAT HAVEN'T CHANGED AS MUCH OVER THE YEARS, BUT THE BLUE PART ARE WHAT USED TO BE ADMINISTRATIVE LICENSE REVOCATION, UH, DOCUMENT REQUESTS. 
          WE FIGURED OUT IN 2019 WITH TEXAS DPS HOW TO AUTOMATE THE DELIVERY OF THOSE DOCUMENTS AND GOT RID OF THE DEMAND FROM THAT. 
          'CAUSE YOU CAN SEE IT WAS GETTING REALLY LARGE ON US. 
          BUT WHAT'S CONTINUED TO INCREASE ARE THE FAR MORE COMPLEX REQUESTS AND DEMANDS FOR DOCUMENTS AROUND EVERYTHING ELSE. 
          AND THIS IS GETTING MORE AND MORE COMPLEX, AND IT IS GOING UP AND UP AND UP. 
          WE ARE PROBABLY PRODUCING HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PAGES OF DOCUMENTS EVERY MONTH NOW. 
          AND HOW WE DELIVER THAT IS BECOMING A REAL ISSUE. 
          AND THIS IS BECOMING PARALYTIC TO THE SYSTEM. 
          SO A SERIOUS NEED THAT WE HAVE URGENTLY IS BETTER AUTOMATION OF HOW WE PRODUCE THESE DOCUMENTS AND THEN BETTER AUTOMATION OF HOW WE DELIVER THESE DOCUMENTS TO THE COURT SYSTEM. 
          IT'S, IT'S, UH, I CANNOT KEEP UP. 
          AND THIS AFFECTS EVERYTHING ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION, ALL THE DISCIPLINES, BUT ALSO AFFECTS HR. 
          IT AFFECTS OUR IT SECTION. 
          IT AFFECTS LEGAL BECAUSE OFTEN THEY'RE ASKING FOR HR RECORDS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          OKAY. 
          FORENSIC BIOLOGY. 
          I AM WORRIED ABOUT FORENSIC BIOLOGY. 
          WE'VE MADE SOME GOOD PROGRESS ON BACKLOGS FORENSIC BIOLOGY. 
          WE HAD TWO SIGNIFICANT PERSONNEL ISSUES THAT OCCURRED IN 2022. 
          I WON'T GO INTO THOSE. 
          I'VE, I'VE SENT SOME OF THE SUMMARIES AROUND THAT. 
          THEY ARE PRETTY NUANCED AND COMPLICATED, BUT THEY HAVE RESULTED IN A RISK OF THOUSANDS OF CASES POTENTIALLY HAVING TO BE REWORKED. 
          AND WE HAD TO, 
          [00:55:01]
UH, LOSE A FAIR NUMBER OF OUR EXPERIENCED ANALYSTS BECAUSE OF THIS. 
          AND YOU CAN SEE THAT STARTED IN ABOUT MARCH. 
          WE HAD BEEN MAKING GOOD PROGRESS AGAINST BACKLOGS UP UNTIL MARCH. 
          AND SINCE THEN IT'S GOING UP. 
          UM, THAT BACKLOG INCREASED BY 16% ACROSS, UH, 2022. 
          NOW, SEXUAL ASSAULT KITS OUT OF THAT, 'CAUSE I KNOW THIS IS ALWAYS A QUESTION. 
          THEY HAVE REMAINED BASICALLY STATIC, BUT WE HAVEN'T MADE ANY PROGRESS ON THAT. 
          UM, SINCE SEXUAL ASSAULT KITS ARE OFTEN THE QUESTION WE HAVE RIGHT NOW, WE'VE GOT 192 SEXUAL ASSAULT KITS THAT WOULD MEET THE STATE'S DEFINITION OF BACKLOGGED. 
          THAT'S MORE THAN 90 DAYS AND HAVEN'T HAD ANY WORK ON 'EM. 
          UH, FOR US, WE LOOK AT, UH, BACKLOG AS ANYTHING MORE THAN 30 DAYS FROM THE POINT IT WAS REQUESTED. 
          DON'T CARE IF I'VE DONE SOME WORK ON IT. 
          THE IMPORTANT PART IS THE REPORT THAT'S GONE BACK TO THE PEOPLE THAT NEED THAT REPORT. 
          WE WOULD LOOK AT THAT, THAT WE'VE GOT ABOUT 360, UH, SEXUAL ASSAULT KITS THAT ARE BACKLOGGED. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          SEIZE DRUGS. 
          AGAIN, THIS HAS BEEN A STAFFING TURNOVER ISSUE. 
          RIGHT NOW I'VE GOT A GRAND TOTAL OF FIVE ANALYSTS THAT ARE WORKING DRUGS. 
          FOUR OF THEM ARE WORKING ALL CASES. 
          ONE OF THEM IS WORKING MARIJUANA CASES. 
          I HATE HEMP. 
          HEMP IS NOTHING BUT A PAIN IN EVERYBODY'S DAIRY AIR. 
          UM, HEMP TESTING BECAME VASTLY MORE COMPLICATED IN 2019. 
          THE STATE LEGISLATURE PASSED THE INDUSTRIAL HEMP ACT THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING ON US. 
          UM, BUT THE BACKLOG NCS DRUGS HAS GONE UP FROM 450 TO A HUNDRED AND TO OVER 1300. 
          NOW, THINGS WE'VE GOTTA LOOK AT IN THIS YEAR. 
          STAFFING TECHNOLOGY NEEDS IN ORDER TO ADDRESS THE EVER MORE COMPLEX CASES WE HAVE BECAUSE OF ALL THE PILLS, MOUNTAINS AND MOUNTAINS AND MOUNTAINS OF PILLS. 
          UM, ONE THING THAT HAS BEEN BENEFICIAL IN THE LAST, SINCE JANUARY WE STARTED WORKING WITH THE DA'S OFFICE, THEY HAVE BEEN AGREEABLE TO ALLOWING US TO CANCEL THE WORK THAT'S BEEN REQUESTED WHEN THEY HAVE DISMISSED CHARGES. 
          THE DA'S OFFICE IS STRUGGLING WITH THEIR OWN BACKLOGS. 
          I MEAN, THIS IS A HUGE PROBLEM FOR THEM, BUT THEY ARE HAVING TO MANAGE HOW THEIR CASELOAD LOOKS AND WHAT THEY'RE DOING TO ADDRESS THAT BACKLOG. 
          AND IT HAS BEEN A REAL PINCH FOR THEM TO BASICALLY DISMISS SOMETHING AND THEN HAZARD LETTING US STOP DOING THE WORK. 
          IN OTHER WORDS, THEY KIND OF OUTSOURCE THEIR BACKLOG ON US. 
          UM, SO I'VE BEEN REALLY PLEASED THAT THEY'VE BEEN AGREEABLE TO WORKING WITH US TO NOT DO THAT AND ALLOW US TO CANCEL THE WORK IF THEY WANTED. 
          IF THEY NEED IT TESTED SOMETIME DOWN THE ROAD, LET'S TALK, BUT DON'T MAKE IT SIT ON MY BACKLOG. 
          UM, JUST DOING THAT SINCE JANUARY, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO RETIRE 15% OF THAT BACKLOG AND 30% OF THE MARIJUANA BACKLOG. 
          JUST DOING THAT. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          DIGITAL MULTIMEDIA, THAT'S THESE THINGS. 
          GETTING DATA OFF OF THESE THINGS. 
          AND CRITICALLY, THESE ARE THINGS THAT HPD AND INVESTIGATORS TYPICALLY NEED THE RESULTS OFF OF THESE THINGS IN HOURS, DAYS, NOT THE MONTHS WHERE I'M AT RIGHT NOW. 
          UH, BUT WE LOST HALF OF THAT SECTION EARLY IN 2022. 
          SO WE'VE HAD TO BASICALLY REPLACE THE STAFF IN THERE. 
          WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO GET THEM SIGNED OFF. 
          LARGELY NON PROCESSING CELL PHONE DEVICES. 
          BUT, UM, WE BUILT UP A PRETTY GOOD SIZED BACKLOG IN THERE. 
          NOW WE'VE MADE SOME PROGRESS AGAINST IT, BUT THAT BACKLOG, WHICH IS ABOUT 300 DEVICES, IS STILL WAY TOO BIG AND WAY TOO LONG FOR WHAT HPD NEEDS. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          SO I KEEP TALKING STAFFING, STAFFING, STAFFING. 
          UM, OUR TURNOVER RATE IS STILL LOOKING PRETTY GOOD COMPARED TO A LOT OF LABS OUT THERE, BUT IT HAS MORE THAN DOUBLED ON US IN THE LAST YEAR, AND THAT IS A FISCAL YEAR PROJECTION. 
          SO WE ALREADY HAVE GOOD SIX MONTHS OF DATA IN THAT. 
          MEANING I MAY BE STARING AT CLOSE TO A 25% TURNOVER RATE THIS FISCAL YEAR. 
          UM, LABS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY. 
          WE TYPICALLY ESTIMATE IT TAKES US SOMEWHERE BETWEEN TWO AND FOUR YEARS TO TRAIN AN ANALYST TO THE POINT THAT THEY ARE ABLE TO DO CASE WORK FROM THE POINT THAT I HIRE 'EM, EVEN IF THEY'RE EXPERIENCED. 
          THAT MEANS WE INVEST SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 300,000 AND $500,000 TO TRAIN AN ANALYST. 
          SO THE 20 VACANCIES THAT I'VE GOT RIGHT NOW, 10% OF OUR STAFF, THAT'S ABOUT A $10 MILLION REPLACEMENT COST THAT SOMEHOW I'VE GOTTA FIGURE OUT HOW TO ABSORB OVER THE NEXT COUPLE YEARS. 
          THIS IS A HUGE ISSUE FOR US. 
          IT'S MORE THAN SIMPLY PAYCHECKS, BUT WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO BE COMPETITIVE FOR PAY. 
          WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO ALLOW GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES FOR STAFF, AND WE'VE GOTTA HIRE ENOUGH PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO ABSORB WHAT IS JUST, I THINK, A SHIFT IN THE WORKFORCE. 
          IT IS GONNA BE MORE VOLATILE FOR YEARS TO COME. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          SO FOR 2023 THINGS WE NEED. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          UH, 
          [01:00:01]
RESOURCES. 
          RESOURCES AND OH YEAH, RESOURCES. 
          I WORRY ABOUT FIREARMS. I WORRY ABOUT FORENSIC BIOLOGY. 
          I WORRY ABOUT CSU. 
          THOSE ARE THE REALLY VISIBLE ONES. 
          THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT ACTUALLY AMY CASTILLO, DR. CASTILLO WAS AT COURT TODAY. 
          SHE AND I TRADE OFF THE DUTY OF GOING AND WRESTLING WITH UNHAPPY JUDGES ABOUT WHERE THE RESULTS ARE, UM, IN WHAT ARE CALLED SHOW CAUSE HEARINGS. 
          SHE WAS AT TWO TODAY FOR BIOLOGY EVIDENCE. 
          THAT WORRIES ME. 
          WE ARE IN FIREARMS. WE HAVE ABOUT A 200 CASE BACKLOG. 
          EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE IS A HOMICIDE WITH A GUN. 
          EVERY TIME I TRY AND PUT ONE OF THOSE AHEAD MEANS SOMEBODY ELSE'S HOMICIDE WITH A GUN GOES SECOND. 
          THAT'S A HUGE PROBLEM FOR US. 
          UM, HFSC RIGHT NOW, RELATIVE TO THE REST OF THE STATE, WE ACTUALLY ARE PRETTY WELL FUNDED. 
          WE AVERAGE ABOUT $950 PER REQUEST, BUT WE ARE STILL AT LEAST 20% LOW OF NATIONAL ESTIMATES OF A MINIMUM REQUIREMENT. 
          AND IF I ALSO LOOK, WE'VE COMPLETED ABOUT 28,000 REQUESTS LAST YEAR. 
          IF WE LOOK AT THE PER CAPITA ESTIMATES OF HOW MANY REQUESTS WE SHOULD SEE, WE SHOULD BE CAPABLE OF DOING ABOUT 45,000. 
          SO YEAH, WE ARE NOT NEARLY AS BAD OFF AS THE REST OF THE STATE, BUT WE ARE STILL A LONG WAY BEHIND WHERE WE NEED TO BE TO SERVICE WHAT WE SHOULD EXPECT TO SEE OUTTA THE CITY. 
          AND THIS COURT DEMAND IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE ANYTIME SOON. 
          UM, THE COUNTY IS DOING THE RIGHT THING, EXPANDING THE CA THE COURT CAPACITY, BUT WE'VE GOTTA KEEP UP. 
          OTHERWISE WE'RE GONNA BE THE ROADBLOCK AND WE'RE ALREADY STARTING TO BE THE ROADBLOCK. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          NOW WE'RE TRYING TO PURSUE EVERY ROUTE WE CAN. 
          UH, WE APPLY FOR EVERY FEDERAL GRANT WE POSSIBLY CAN FOR PERSPECTIVE, THE ENTIRETY OF THE FEDERAL BUDGET THAT HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH FORENSIC LABORATORIES IS A GRAND TOTAL OF ABOUT $200 MILLION A YEAR. 
          I RECEIVED THIS LAST YEAR, $2.7 MILLION OF THAT. 
          SO OUR ONE LABORATORY REPRESENTS MORE THAN 1% OF THE ENTIRE FEDERAL BUDGET. 
          IN TERMS OF GRANT MONEY WE GET FROM THE FEDS. 
          WE GET EVERYTHING WE POSSIBLY CAN OUT OF THE FEDERAL END. 
          THERE IS NOTHING AVAILABLE FROM THE STATE. 
          UM, BUT WE ARE PROPOSING SOME ADDITIONAL ARPA MONIES TO BE ABLE TO ADDRESS SOME OF THIS, UM, DOCUMENTATION CHALLENGE. 
          AND OTHER PARTS OF IT ALSO HAVE SOME REQUESTS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 24 BUDGET. 
          IT IS ALMOST ENTIRELY STAFFING AND CAPITAL EXPENDITURES THAT WE HAVE BEEN DELAYING FOR TOO MANY YEARS AND IT'S CATCHING UP TO US. 
          BUT WE GOTTA FIGURE OUT HOW TO SUSTAINABLY ADD PERSONNEL BECAUSE IT IS A VERY LONG ARC TO GET THEM USEFUL. 
          UH, I WAS JUST WRITING AN OP-ED FOR LABORATORY CHALLENGE THAT'S UP IN NORTH DAKOTA AND POINTING OUT, I MEAN, THESE SCIENTISTS ARE DESPERATELY DIFFICULT TO FIND. 
          THEY ARE PAINFUL TO TRAIN AND THEY ARE EASY TO DAMAGE AND LOSE. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          NOW, THE LAST THING THAT WE'RE DISCUSSING OF THIS IS A LITTLE BIT MORE CREATIVE POSSIBILITY BECAUSE PROPERTY AND EVIDENCE MANAGEMENT IS A PAIN POINT FOR HPD, IT IS A PAIN POINT FOR EVERY AGENCY IN HARRIS COUNTY. 
          PROPERTY AND EVIDENCE AFFECTS EVERYTHING IN THE SYSTEM. 
          IT IS FANTASTICALLY INEFFICIENT. 
          SO THE CONCEPT HERE IS WHAT IF WE WERE TO TRANSITION PROPERTY AND EVIDENCE OVER TO HFSC? THAT MEANS I CAN WORK AT MAKING THE SYSTEM ENTIRELY IN MORE EFFICIENT. 
          AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH HPD OVER THE LAST YEAR. 
          I'VE MANAGED TO GET THE DA'S OFFICE, HPD AND US IN THE SAME ROOM REGULARLY. 
          THAT LED TO I THINK THE SINGLE LARGEST, UH, DRUG DESTRUCTION RUN THAT HP D'S DONE HERE RECENTLY. 
          WE'RE MAKING SOME PROGRESS ON IT. 
          I THINK THERE'S REAL PROGRESS WE CAN MAKE. 
          BUT THE ADVANTAGE IN THIS IS THE, BASICALLY THE REVENUE THAT IS USED TO RUN PROPERTY AND EVIDENCE IS PROBABLY MORE EFFICIENTLY SPENT WITH US. 
          THAT IS A MUCH LARGER FOOTPRINT FOR US IN THE 500 JEFFERSON BUILDING. 
          UM, THERE ARE EFFICIENCIES OF SCALE THAT WE CAN GAIN THERE IN TERMS OF THE PROPERTY. 
          THERE'S EFFICIENCIES OF SCALE THAT WE CAN GAIN IN A NUMBER OF PLACES. 
          I THINK THERE ARE OVER, OVER TIME GONNA BE OPPORTUNITIES TO CONSOLIDATE PROPERTY AND EVIDENCE WITH COUNTY FUNCTIONS AS WELL AS WE GAIN THOSE EFFICIENCIES THAT BECOMES REVENUE. 
          I CAN TURN TO OTHER LABORATORY OPERATIONS. 
          SO IT'S NOT A SOLUTION FOR NEXT YEAR, BUT IT LAYS THE GROUNDWORK FOR HOW WE GET FROM AN OPERATION THAT'S 200 PEOPLE AND 28,000 REQUESTS A YEAR TO SOMETHING THAT PROBABLY IS MORE LIKE SIX OR 700 PEOPLE AND 45,000 REQUESTS THAT'S NEEDED. 
          SO WITH THAT, I AM HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. 
          Y'ALL KNOW, I'M HAPPY TO RANT AND EASY TO DISTRACT. 
          UH, THANK YOU DR. STOUT. 
          I HAVE A FEW CLARIFYING QUESTIONS AND THEN WE'LL GO TO YOU. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN. 
          UM, ONE YOU HAD, YOU HAD MENTIONED 
          [01:05:01]
IN TERMS OF COST, HOW WE COMPARE TO OTHER CITIES IN TEXAS MM-HMM . 
          AND WE'RE ACTUALLY DOING BETTER YEP. 
          THAN OTHER CITIES IN TEXAS. 
          HOW DO WE COMPARE OVERALL TO THE LABS IN OTHER PARTS OF THE STATE? OH, THE OTHER PARTS. 
          SO DPS IS PROBABLY THE WORST OFF. 
          UH, I THINK THEY'RE BAD ABOUT $500 A REQUEST. 
          UM, ACTUALLY HARRIS COUNTY, IFS AND US, THE, THE COUNTY'S CRIME LABORATORY, WE'RE, WE'RE PRETTY MUCH PRETTY SIMILAR IN THE FUNDING THAT WE HAVE PER REQUEST. 
          MOST OF THE LABORATORIES IN THE STATE ARE RIGHT AROUND THAT AVERAGE OF ABOUT 600. 
          NOW, ONE OF THE THINGS I USUALLY POINT OUT TO PEOPLE BY, FOR PERSPECTIVE, FOR CRIME LABORATORY, THAT IS EVERYTHING RECEIVING THE SAMPLE ACCESSIONING, THE SAMPLE TESTING, THE SAMPLE, TESTIFYING, STOR, EVERYTHING. 
          I USED TO WORK IN A COMMERCIAL LABORATORY YEARS AGO IN THE TOXICOLOGY WORLD. 
          THAT COMPANY, I WISH I SAW THIS. 
          YOU KNOW, THEY DIDN'T PAY ME THAT, BUT THEY BILLED MY TIME OUT AT 350 BUCKS AN HOUR JUST FOR THE TESTIMONY END. 
          GOT IT. 
          UM, AND YOU HAD SAID SOMETHING I THAT KIND OF, YOU SAID IT PRETTY QUICKLY. 
          SO JUST FOR THE RECORD, IS THERE ANY STATE FUNDING FOR THE WORK THAT YOU ARE DOING EFFECTIVELY? NO. 
          THERE IS ONE VERY SMALL GRANT PROGRAM THAT WAS ESTABLISHED, I THINK WITH HOUSE BILL EIGHT IN THE LAST LEGISLATIVE SESSION. 
          THERE IS A CHECKBOX ON YOUR LICENSE RENEWAL AND YOUR TAG RENEWAL THAT YOU CAN DONATE A DOLLAR TO A FUND THAT WE CAN APPLY TO. 
          BUT THAT IS SPECIFICALLY FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT KITS. 
          WE'VE HAD ONE GRANT FROM THAT, UM, I THINK IT WAS A GRAND TOTAL OF ABOUT $12,000. 
          THERE IS BASICALLY NO STATE FUNDING AVAILABLE. 
          UM, THAT'S SOMETHING I WOULD LOVE TO TRY AND SWAY THIS LEGISLATIVE SESSION, BUT I'M NOT HOLDING MY BREATH. 
          GOT IT. 
          SO THERE'S NO STATE FUNDING. 
          THE MAIN USERS WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE COURTS, UM, OF THE FORENSIC SCIENCE CENTER IS I'M ASSUMING HPD AND THE DA'S OFFICE. 
          CORRECT. 
          IS THAT CORRECT? CORRECT. 
          AND THE CITY FUNDS THE MAJORITY OF, UM, THE FORENSIC SCIENCE CENTER'S OPERATIONS? CORRECT. 
          AND AGAIN, HPD UTILIZING IT, HP IS A BRANCH OF THE CITY, UM, BUT IT'S ALSO THE DA'S OFFICE. 
          YES. 
          DOES THE DA'S OFFICE PAY ANYTHING IN TERMS OF SUPPORT TO THE FORENSIC SCIENCE CENTER? NO. 
          AND WHEN YOU SAY, UM, THERE'S ONE SLIDE WHERE YOU SAID, UM, THERE'S A LOT OF REQUESTS. 
          THEY ARE ASKING FOR DOCUMENTS, INCLUDING HR DOCUMENTS. 
          WHO'S THE THEY? THE, THE, THE THEY THAT WOULD BE ASKING IS ABOUT TWO THIRDS OF THOSE DOCUMENT REQUESTS COME FROM THE DA'S OFFICE AND ABOUT A THIRD COMES FROM HPD. 
          OKAY. 
          THEY'RE KIND OF DIFFERENT IN WHAT THEY ASK FOR, BUT YOU KNOW, IN GENERAL IT'S THE DA'S AS THEY'RE BUILDING THE CASE TO PROSECUTE, THEY'RE THE ONES THAT ARE DEALING WITH DISCLOSURE AND DISCOVERY REQUIREMENTS. 
          RIGHT, OF COURSE. 
          AND AGAIN, THAT INFORMATION IS VERY IMPORTANT RIGHT, RIGHT. 
          TO PROVING THE CASE. 
          AND THEY THEY ABSOLUTELY NEED THAT. 
          I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY. 
          YEAH. 
          'CAUSE THERE WAS A LOT OF YEAH, IT, IT, THEY, IT, IT CAN BE REALLY, IT IS A COMPLICATED SYSTEM. 
          AND WHILE THE COURT ULTIMATELY IS THE BACKSTOP AND MAY BE THE ONE THAT HAS THE COURT ORDER, OFTEN THE COURT ORDER IS ACTUALLY THE DA IS THE ONE THAT'S SUBPOENAING OUR PEOPLE. 
          THE DA IS THE ONE THAT'S HAVING TO REACT TO THAT. 
          'CAUSE THE DA IS THE ONE THAT'S PROSECUTING THE CASE. 
          AND CAN YOU EXPLAIN, YOU HAVE TWO BULLET POINTS IN TERMS OF WORRIES AND NEEDS. 
          UM, THERE'S TURNOVER AT THE DA'S OFFICE, WHICH MEANS INCREASED DEMAND ON THE LAB. 
          CAN YOU JUST EXPLAIN THAT? BECAUSE I KNOW VERY GOOD POINT. 
          YEAH. 
          SO I, LIKE, WE HAVE STRUGGLED WITH TURNOVER. 
          THE DA'S OFFICE HERE, AND ACTUALLY DA'S OFFICES ALL OVER THE COUNTRY HAVE STRUGGLED WITH TURNOVER. 
          THE PROBLEM THAT THAT THEN MEANS IS WE ARE OFTEN CONFRONTED WITH A VERY GREEN A DA, TRYING A CASE WHO STRUGGLES MANAGING THEIR CASE, STRUGGLES MANAGING THE COURTROOM, AND IS NOT EXPERIENCED IN HANDLING FORENSIC EVIDENCE. 
          SO THAT MEANS A GREATER DEMAND ON US TO THEN HAVE TO EDUCATE THAT A DA, THERE'S A GREATER RISK TO OUR ANALYSTS, UM, BECAUSE IT CAN GO BADLY SIDEWAYS IN COURT BECAUSE OF AN INEXPERIENCED A DA THAT THEN CAN JEOPARDIZE OUR ANALYST. 
          UM, AND WE'VE HAD THAT HAPPEN. 
          UH, AND THEN IT IS, WE ARE STRUGGLING WITH THEM AND THEIR MANAGEMENT OF THE CASE. 
          THAT, AND I, I GET IT, I UNDERSTAND IT. 
          THIS, I, I KNOW IT SOUNDS CRITICAL, BUT THEY ARE STRUGGLING LIKE THE REST OF US. 
          BUT IF THEY ARE UNABLE TO, IN THE THOUSAND CASES THAT SIT ON THE TYPICAL ADA'S DESK RIGHT NOW, BE ABLE TO REVIEW THAT CASE AND MAKE REQUESTS FOR THE WORK IN A TIMELY FASHION, WE ALL GET DRAGGED INTO COURT BECAUSE I CAN'T PRODUCE THAT RESULT QUICKLY ENOUGH. 
          NOW WHEN THEY'RE TRYING TO TRY THE CASE AND THEY'RE ASKING ME TWO WEEKS OUT FOR SOMETHING THAT'S GONNA TAKE THREE MONTHS TO DO. 
          [01:10:01]
GOT IT. 
          AND THANK YOU. 
          AND THE, UM, THE OTHER BULLET POINT YOU HAD HAD WAS THE COUNTY COVID RELIEF HAS EXPANDED COURT DEMAND. 
          DOES THAT GO BACK TO THE ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO EXPAND AND GROW MORE COURTS BECAUSE OF THE NEED? IS THAT WHAT CORRECT YOU'RE SAYING THERE? SO THE COUNTY, RIGHT, BECAUSE OF THE BACKLOG IS FUNDING THE EXPANSION OF THE COURTS. 
          BUT THEN THAT IN TURN IS CREATING MORE DEMAND ON RIGHT NOW. 
          NOW THIS, THIS IS DIFFERENT THAN ADDING NEW COURTS BECAUSE LAST LEGISLATIVE SESSION WE HAD A GRAND TOTAL OF ONE NEW FELONY COURT ADDED TO HARRIS COUNTY, WHICH IS THE FIRST NEW COURT THAT'S BEEN ADDED IN DECADES AS I UNDERSTAND IT. 
          RIGHT? THESE ARE ADMINISTRATIVE COURTS, THEY ARE EMERGENCY DOCKETS. 
          SO THEY'RE BASICALLY WAYS TO TRY AND DIVIDE UP THE TASKS THAT THEY ACTUALLY CAN ESTABLISH THAT INCREASES THE CAPACITY OF THE COURTS, WHICH IS GREAT. 
          BUT THAT INCREASED CAPACITY INCREASES THE DEMAND ON US FOR TESTIMONY, DOCUMENTATION, ALL OF THESE THINGS TO SUPPORT THOSE CASES. 
          OKAY. 
          I APPRECIATE, AND AGAIN, THIS IS VERY HELPFUL JUST IN TERMS OF UNDERSTANDING, RIGHT? IS A CITY WHAT WE'RE FUNDING YEAH. 
          COMPARED TO THE NEEDS THAT YOU ALL HAVE AND WHERE THERE MAY BE OTHER OPPORTUNITIES TO GET THAT SUPPORT OR NOT. 
          UM, SO I APPRECIATE THAT VERY MUCH, UH, AND COUNCILOR ALCORN, THANK YOU FOR, UH, OBLIGING ME WITH THAT, BUT PLEASE PROCEED. 
          SURE. 
          THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          AND THANK YOU DR. STOUT FOR THIS AND FOR YOUR WEEKLY UPDATES, WHICH ARE SUPER INFORMATIVE AND I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR, UM, SENDING THOSE I KNOW TAKES A LOT OF TIME, BUT YOU'RE KEEPING ALL OF US INFORMED BACK ON THE DOCUMENTS THAT THE CHAIR ME MENTIONED, UM, I GUESS IT'S SLIDE NINE HERE MM-HMM . 
          THAT SHOWS THE, THE, JUST KIND OF EXPLAIN WHAT, LIKE GIVE ME SOME EXA I'M ASSUMING THE DOCUMENTS ARE JUST A SUMMARY OF WHAT YOU, WHAT THE EVIDENCE HAS SHOWN. 
          WHAT ARE THE DOCUMENTS? I MEAN, WHAT, SO WHEN WE PRODUCE RESULTS, WE, WE PRODUCE ALL KINDS OF BUSINESS RECORDS ASSOCIATED WITH A CASE. 
          UM, THAT MAY BE BENCH NOTES, THAT MAY BE INSTRUMENTAL DATA, THAT MAY BE TEMPERATURE LOGS AND MAINTENANCE LOGS, AND ALL OF THESE, ALL OF THAT UNDER, I MEAN, UNDER FEDERAL LAW, THAT'S ALL DISCLOSABLE TO DEFENSE. 
          BUT UNDER TEXAS LAW AND THE MICHAEL MORTON ACT, THERE IS AN EXTRA SPECIAL INCREASE IN THE OBLIGATION TO PRODUCE THAT DOCUMENTATION. 
          UM, THIS IS A GOOD THING. 
          IT'S GOOD FOR BETTER PROSECUTION, IT'S BETTER FOR BEST, GOOD FOR BETTER ADJUDICATION OF CASES, BUT THAT QUANTITY OF DOCUMENTATION MAY BE THOUSANDS OF PAGES FOR AN INDIVIDUAL REQUEST THAT WE HAVE. 
          UM, BECAUSE YOU THINK AN INDIVIDUAL REQUEST WE HAVE TYPICALLY HAS AT LEAST SEVEN ITEMS OF EVIDENCE. 
          THAT MAY MEAN THAT THAT ACTUALLY HAS SEVERAL DOZEN ANALYSES THAT WERE DONE WITH THAT. 
          UM, ALL OF THE INTERPRETATIONS, ALL OF THE, HOW, ALL THE CALCULATIONS THAT WERE DONE WITH IT, ALL OF THAT IS POTENTIALLY DISCOVERABLE AND DISCLOSABLE. 
          UM, AND THERE HAVE BEEN SOME RECENT CASE DECISIONS THAT ARE PUSHING THAT EVEN MORE. 
          UM, AND ACTUALLY ONE OF THOSE WAS ONE OF OURS, COLON. 
          I KNOW IT. 
          OKAY. 
          AGAIN, IT'S COMPLICATED STORY. 
          RIGHT. 
          BUT BASICALLY THAT IS DRIVING AN EVEN HARDER DEMAND FOR EVEN MORE DISCLOSURE. 
          SO NOT ONLY ARE THE DISCLOSURES GOING UP BECAUSE OF THE INCREASE IN THE COURT DEMAND, THEY ARE INCREASINGLY MORE COMPLEX AS WELL. 
          OKAY. 
          AND KIND OF THE LIFECYCLE OF THE EVIDENCE, I MEAN, WHEN IT FIRST COMES IN, YOU'RE OBVIOUSLY DOING ANALYSIS FOR HPD OR RIGHT. 
          YOU KNOW, OR WHOEVER AND THEN, AND THEN KIND OF JUST THE, YOU WAIT THEN UNTIL IT'S REQUESTED BY THE DAS FOR THE COURT? UM, YEAH. 
          SO THE, THE VAST MAJORITY OF REQUESTS WE GET ARE FROM HPD AND THE INVESTIGATORS AS THEY BILL THE CASE. 
          RIGHT. 
          INITIALLY, THE ONE EXCEPTION TO THAT ARE, UM, DRUG REQUESTS, BECAUSE THE DAS ARE KNOWN KNOW ON INTAKE WHAT THEY'RE ACTUALLY GONNA TAKE CHARGES ON. 
          SO FOR DRUGS, THE REQUESTS COME FROM THE DA'S OFFICE. 
          OKAY. 
          RATHER THAN HPD. 
          UM, ONCE WE GET THROUGH, YOU KNOW, THAT INITIAL PART AND HPD BASICALLY HANDS THE CASE OVER TO THE DA SAYING, YOU KNOW, HERE'S WHAT WE'VE GOT. 
          THEY HAND IT OVER TO THE DAS ARE GONNA TAKE THAT TO GRAND JURY. 
          THEY'RE GONNA HAVE CHARGES, THEY'RE GONNA INDICT SOMEBODY. 
          NOW, ONCE THEY'RE STARTING TO GO TO TRIAL, WHAT WE WILL SEE IS AN A DA STARTS TO BUILD THAT CASE FOR PROSECUTION, AND THEY'LL LOOK AT THAT AND GO, AH, I WISH WE'D RUN. 
          I NEED THAT PIECE, THAT ITEM RUN FOR DNA. 
          AND ACTUALLY THAT'S WHAT AMY WAS OVER, UM, CASE THAT WE'VE ISSUED 13 REPORTS ON THIS PARTICULAR CASE, ALL DNA, AND THEY HAD ANOTHER ITEM THAT THEY FELT LIKE THEY NEEDED, THEY MADE THAT REQUEST TWO WEEKS AGO WHEN THAT ITEM WE ASKED THEM ABOUT A YEAR AGO, THIS IS WHAT I MEAN, IF THEY ARE SO BACKED UP AND UNABLE TO KEEP UP WITH THEIR CASES THAT THEY'RE 
          [01:15:01]
MAKING A REQUEST FOR A 14TH ANALYSIS, WE COULD HAVE BEEN ASKED FOR A YEAR AGO, BUT THEY'RE UNDERWATER. 
          SO IT GOT ASKED FOR TWO WEEKS AGO, AND THERE'S NO EARTHLY WAY I CAN GET THAT DONE. 
          SO THAT'S, YOU KNOW, NOW WE'RE BACK OVER THE COURT TRYING TO EXPLAIN THAT TO THE JUDGE. 
          UM, BUT THAT'S THE KIND OF REQUESTS THAT WE GET AS THEY BUILD THEIR CASE. 
          OKAY. 
          I WAS JUST TRYING TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THAT KIND OF LIFE CYCLE. 
          AND WE HAVE WORKED THROUGH WITH HPD, UM, WHAT WE CALL BASICALLY CASE ACCEPTANCE POLICIES. 
          SO WE'VE ALREADY WORKED THROUGH LIMITATIONS ON WE WILL ACCEPT THE FIRST 10 ITEMS IN A VIOLENT CRIME TO DO DNA ON. 
          IT'S NOT THAT WE WON'T GO BACK AND DO MORE, BUT POINT US TO WHAT YOU THINK ARE THE 10 MOST PROBATIVE, 10 MOST MATERIAL ITEMS. WE'LL TEST THOSE FIRST, THEN WE WILL GO BACK AND LOOK AT SOMETHING ELSE. 
          GOT IT. 
          BUT EVEN WITH THAT, A CAPITAL MURDER BY STATE LAW, WE ARE REQUIRED TO TEST ALL BIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE. 
          SO LIKE LUCKY WARD, UH, OVER A 10 YEAR PERIOD, AND LUCKY WARD, WE PROBABLY TESTED 2000 ITEMS. THAT ONE CASE OVER 10 YEARS PROBABLY COST US $8 MILLION TO DO. 
          WOW. 
          OKAY. 
          AND, UM, FINALLY, UM, THANK YOU FOR SLIGHT THE, THE, THE ONE ABOUT THE PROPERTY. 
          YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN YEAH. 
          BANGING THAT DRUM FOR A LONG TIME. 
          YEP. 
          AND, AND REALLY JUST GETTING, UM, THE POLICE KIND OF OUT OF THE PROPERTY BUSINESS AND, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT RESOURCES THERE, I THINK THAT'S AN IMPORTANT THING TO CONSIDER IN THE, IN THE BUDGET CYCLE AND HOW WE MIGHT, YOU KNOW, TRANSITION, UM, MORE OF THE EVIDENCE OVER TO, TO THE HFSC AND CERTAINLY WHATEVER WE CAN DO TO EXPAND THAT TOO, SHARING WITH THE COUNTY IS, IS A, A LONG TERM CREATIVE WAY TO, TO LOOK AT THE, THE COSTS. 
          SO THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          NO, ABSOLUTELY. 
          AND AGAIN, DR. 
          STA, I APPRECIATE THAT LAST SLIDE AS WELL, WHERE WE'RE LOOKING AT CREATIVE SOLUTIONS. 
          WE ONLY HAVE A FINITE AMOUNT OF FUNDING MM-HMM . 
          HERE AT THE CITY THAT WE CAN DO. 
          BUT ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT THINGS INCLUDING, UM, EVIDENCE AND PROPERTY CONSOLIDATION AND, UH, I APPRECIATE HPDS, UH, PARTNERSHIP IN THAT YEAH. 
          AND MOVING TOWARDS THAT. 
          SO HOPING THAT WE'LL HAVE MORE UPDATES ON THAT SOON. 
          UM, SEEING NO OTHER, UH, QUESTIONS IN QUEUE. 
          UH, DR. STOUT, THANK YOU. 
          AND WE'RE GONNA MOVE TO, UH, PUBLIC COMMENT AT THIS TIME. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          I APPRECIATE Y'ALL'S TIME. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          UM, FIRST FOR PUBLIC SPEAKERS, AGAIN, AS A REMINDER, YOU WILL HAVE, UH, TWO MINUTES. 
          UM, FIRST UP WE HAVE STEPHANIE VALDEZ. 
          STEPHANIE VALDEZ, IF YOU'RE ONLINE, HIT STAR SIX TO UNMUTE. 
          OKAY. 
          NEXT, UH, CHRISTOPHER RIVERA. 
          HELLO. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, MY NAME'S CHRISTOPHER CHRISTOPHER RIVERA AND I WORK WITH THE TEXAS CIVIL RIGHTS PROJECT, AND THE CITY OF HOUSTON DECIDED TO RENEGOTIATE ITS CONTRACT WITH SHOTSPOTTER, WHICH HAS PROVEN TO NOT PREVENT GUN VIOLENCE. 
          THE SHOT SPOTTER PILOT PROGRAM BEGAN IN 2020, AND WE HAVE SEEN LITTLE RESULTS. 
          ONLY 20% OF ALERTS RESULT IN OFFENSE REPORT, MEANING THAT 80% OF, UH, RESPONSES ARE A WASTE OF PUBLIC RESOURCES. 
          19% OF FIRED CARTRIDGES WERE DETECTED AND RECOVERED BY HPD SHOWING THAT LITTLE EVIDENCE OF ACTUAL GUNSHOTS BEING FIRED. 
          SO I BELIEVE THAT WE CAN USE THE 3.5 MILLION TO SUPPORT SHOTS FIRED, TO MOVE THAT AND PUT INTO PROGRAMS THAT ACTUALLY REDUCE GUN VIOLENCE LIKE HOUSING AND HEALTHCARE AND, UH, DEBT RELIEF. 
          TO FURTHER THIS POINT, I'M ALSO HERE TO SPEAK ABOUT TRAFFIC SAFETY AND REDUCING POLICE GUN VIOLENCE ON HOUSTON RESIDENTS. 
          LAST YEAR, HPD KILLED TWO BLACK DRIVERS DURING SO-CALLED ROUTINE TRAFFIC STOPS. 
          AND MAYOR TURNER RECENTLY SAID, ONE DEATH IS TOO MANY. 
          AND I AGREE THAT'S WHY WE NEED TO REEVALUATE AND CHANGE THE WAY HPD PATROLS TRAFFIC. 
          SEVERAL CITIES AND THE STATE OF VIRGINIA HAVE DEPRIORITIZED NON-SAFETY TRAFFIC STOPS. 
          AND I ASK THAT WE DO THE SAME. 
          WE NEED TO ADOPT A BILL SIMILAR TO PHILADELPHIA'S DRIVING EQUALITY BILL, WHICH PROHIBITS POLICE FROM STOPPING DRIVERS FOR BROKEN, UH, BROKEN TAILLIGHTS, EXPIRED REGISTRATION, OR BUMPER ISSUES. 
          THESE STOPS DON'T MAKE OUR CITY SAFER. 
          THEY MAKE OUR RESIDENTS FEEL UNSAFE AND INCREASE THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO END UP ARRESTED, DETAINED, OR DECEASED. 
          POLICE HELP US MAKE THE ROAD SAFER BY ADOPTING AN ORDINANCE SIMILAR TO PHILADELPHIA'S DRIVING EQUALITY BILL AND CANCELED THE SHOTS WATER CONTRACT. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME. 
          THANK YOU. 
          NEXT, UH, SABA BLANDING. 
          A SABA, GO AHEAD. 
          [01:20:01]
WAS THAT CORRECT? OKAY. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON. 
          MY NAME IS SABA BLANDING, AND I'M A RESIDENT OF DISTRICT I. 
          WHEN I WAS IN SECOND GRADE, MY TEACHER TAUGHT OUR CLASS ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST. 
          IN ORDER TO DO SO, SHE LITERALLY DIVIDED OUR CLASS INTO TWO CATEGORIES, THOSE WITH BLUE EYES AND THOSE WITHOUT, TO PHYSICALLY DEMONSTRATE WHO WOULD BE SPARED AND WHO WOULD BE TAKEN AWAY. 
          IN RETROSPECT, IT WAS AN INCREDIBLY REAL LESSON FOR CHILDREN THAT YOUNG, AND I AM GRATEFUL FOR IT. 
          FROM THAT LESSON TO LEARNING ABOUT SLAVERY, TO CIVIL RIGHTS, TO OTHER INJUSTICES, I KNEW, I JUST KNEW THAT I WOULD BE ON THE RIGHT SIDE. 
          THEN MY HUSBAND AND I MOVED TO KIGALI ON THE 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE RWANDAN GENOCIDE. 
          PERHAPS IT WAS SOMETHING ABOUT MY PHYSICAL PRESENCE IN THE LAND, BUT I REALIZED THAT TO STAND UP TO INJUSTICES AT THAT LEVEL REQUIRES A MAGNITUDE OF BRAVERY. 
          I COULD HARDLY IMAGINE. 
          I ALSO REALIZED THAT VIOLENCE IS A SPECTRUM. 
          AND WHEN YOU FOLLOW THE THREAD TOWARDS THE OTHER END, THE THING CONNECTING EVERYTHING IS FEAR. 
          DECADES AND HUNDREDS AND SOMETIMES THOUSANDS OF YEARS OF FEAR AND OTHERING, IT IS INCREASED, INCREDIBLY EASY TO DIVORCE OURSELVES FROM THE MOST VIOLENT POTENTIAL THAT SPECTRUM, IT IS SO FAR AWAY. 
          BUT THE REALITY IS THAT WE ENGAGE WITH THAT SPECTRUM OF VIOLENCE EVERY DAY. 
          WE USE FEAR TO JUSTIFY OURSELVES EVERY DAY. 
          SORRY, I, UM, THAT'S OKAY. 
          YOU'RE DOING GREAT. 
          UM, THE LIES THAT ONE'S INDIVIDUAL SAFETY IS PREDICATED ON ANOTHER'S DESTRUCTION. 
          TODAY WE ARE TALKING ABOUT SHOT SPOTTER, A PROGRAM THAT HAS CONSISTENTLY BEEN PROVEN INEFFECTIVE IN OTHER CITIES. 
          BY MY CALCULATIONS, THE CITY SPENT $13,839 FOR EACH GUN RECOVERED IN ADDITION TO THE WILD COST INEFFECTIVENESS OF THE PROGRAM. 
          THE PROGRAM IN IS GREEN LIGHTING, GOVERNMENT SURVEILLANCE, AND COMMUNITIES, WHICH BRINGS ME TO MY ORIGINAL POINT, THE SPECTRUM OF VIOLENCE AND THE THREAT OF FEAR. 
          THE COGNITIVE DISSONANCE OF OTHERING AND SURVEYING, NOT JUST WASTING TAXPAYER DOLLARS, BUT INSTITUTING A SYSTEM OF SURVEILLANCE ALL IN 1984 WITH REAL CONSEQUENCES IN COMMUNITIES THAT ARE ALREADY VICTIM TO OVER POLICING IN A STATE THAT IS WORKING DILIGENTLY TO CRIMINALIZE SEXUALITY AND REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM, THE PROGRAM USES FEAR TO WASTE PRECIOUS TAX DOLLARS THAT COULD OTHERWISE BE SPENT ON INVESTMENTS WITH PROVEN EFFICACY SUCH AS HEALTH, HOUSING, AND HUMAN SERVICES. 
          CAN I HAVE LIKE ONE SECOND? YEAH, GO AHEAD. 
          OKAY. 
          LAST MONTH WE ADDRESSED HPD TRAFFIC STOPS HAD DOUBLED AND SO HAD DEATHS. 
          CORRELATION DOES NOT IMPLY CAUSATION, BUT WE KNOW THAT TRAFFIC STOPS ARE FREQUENTLY GROUND ZERO FOR A VIOLENT POLICE INTERACTION. 
          MOREOVER, THE PREMISE FOR THIS, OH, I THOUGHT YOU SAID I COULD HAVE ONE MORE MINUTE. 
          NO, NOT ONE MORE MINUTE. 
          I'M SORRY. 
          JUST IF YOU CAN WRAP IT UP, PLEASE. 
          YEAH. 
          JUST, JUST TO REITERATE WHAT CHRISTOPHER SAID, UM, AND JUST MY ASK TODAY IS THAT YOU LISTEN TO MY PEERS THAT HAVE PROVIDED FACTS REGARDING BOTH SHOT SPOTTER AND THE NON-SAFETY TRAFFIC STOPS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, NEXT, STEVEN WU. 
          STEVEN WU, IF YOU'RE CHAIRWOMAN CAME IN. 
          GO AHEAD. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON. 
          CHAIRWOMAN CAME IN AND MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY AND HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE. 
          MY NAME IS STEVEN WU, AND I AM THE ORGANIZING AND POLICY MANAGER OF WOODY JUNTOS. 
          WE'RE AN IMMIGRANT RIGHTS ORGANIZATION SERVING ASIAN AND ALL IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES IN ARE, ARE PRIMARILY BASED IN WESTERN NORTHWEST HOUSTON. 
          I'M HERE TODAY LIKE MANY OF MY COLLEAGUES, TO ASK YOU ALL IN THE CITY TO CONSIDER ADOPTING A HOUSTON DRIVER'S EQUALITY ACT THAT WOULD DEPRIORITIZE SEVEN VIOLATIONS LIKE THE VEHICLE REGISTRATION, BRAKE LIGHTS, NOT BEING ILLUMINATED, MINOR OBSTRUCTIONS, AND OTHERS TO BE SECONDARY VIOLATIONS. 
          THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS COMMITTED TO VISION ZERO IN ENDING TRAFFIC DEATH, SERIOUS INJURIES BY 2030 TO BOLSTER PUBLIC SAFETY. 
          BUT SADLY, WE'VE SEEN THE OPPOSITE OF ANY FORM OF JUST SAFETY. 
          IN THE PAST YEAR, HHPD HAS MADE OVER 25, 250 7,000 TRAFFIC STOPS WITH SIX, SEVEN BEING BLACK AND LATINO DRIVERS. 
          WHEN THOSE STOPS ESCALATE TO ARREST, THOSE RATES JUMPED TO 80% BEING BLACK AND LATINO DRIVERS. 
          AND WHEN THOSE INTERACTIONS BECOME NIGHTMARES, NHBD USES FORCE. 
          92% OF ASSAULTS WERE BLACK AND LATINO DRIVERS. 
          AND FOR OUR IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES, INTERACTIONS WITH THE POLICE OVER TRAFFIC STOPS CAN AND HAVE LED TO DEPORTATIONS FROM 2016 TO TWENTY TWENTY THREE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY ONE. 
          HOUSTON IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND NEIGHBORS HAVE BEEN DEPORTED BASED UPON A TRAFFIC OFFENSE. 
          AND FINALLY, LET'S NOT FORGET HOW ARRESTS AND DETENTION IN HARRIS COUNTY JAIL HAVE LED TO 30 IN-CUSTODY DEATHS SINCE LAST YEAR. 
          PLEASE TELL ME HOW ANY OF THIS IS PUBLIC SAFETY. 
          WE'VE ALL VIVIDLY SEEN THE TRAGIC ENDS TO TRAFFIC STOPS WITH TYREE NICHOLS. 
          PHILANDO CASTILE AND SANDRA BLAND COMMUNITIES, INCLUDING PHILADELPHIA AND FAYETTEVILLE, HAVE TAKEN NOTES AND DEPRIORITIZED TRAFFIC STOPS THAT AREN'T RELATED TO PUBLIC SAFETY. 
          THEY LISTEN TO STUDIES THAT SHOW NO CORRELATION BETWEEN POLICE TRAFFIC STOPS AND REDUCING TRAFFIC, BRUTALITIES AND INJURIES. 
          ADOPTING A HOUSTON DRIVER'S EQUALITY ACT IS THE SOLUTION TO MAKE HOUSTON ACTUALLY SAFER. 
          WE ALSO ASK FOR ALL HPD COLLECTED, ANALYZE AND REPORTED DATA TO BE DISAGGREGATED, NOT JUST BY RACE, BUT BY ETHNICITY AND GENDER IDENTITY. 
          SO WE CAN CLEARLY UNDERSTAND DISPARITIES FOR OUR SOUTHEAST ASIAN AS WELL AS OUR QUEER COMMUNITIES. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH EVERYONE HERE AND CREATING A REAL SAFE IN JUST HOUSTON. 
          [01:25:01]
THANK YOU. 
          UH, NEXT WE HAVE BRIDGET. 
          OH, MY ARM. 
          NEXT WE, CAN YOU MUTE THEM? . 
          OKAY. 
          NEXT WE HAVE BRIDGET LEWIS TO BE FOLLOWED BY JASON OLIVER. 
          BRIDGET. 
          ALRIGHT, JASON, YOU'RE UP. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON. 
          I'M JASON OLIVER. 
          I LIVE IN DISTRICT G. 
          UH, I'LL, I'LL START OFF TALKING ABOUT SHOT SPOTTER. 
          WE'RE SEEING A, A LOT OF NUMBERS AND IT'S CLEAR THAT THIS IS GENERATING LOTS OF ACTIVITY FOR HPD, WHICH LIKELY RESULTS IN MORE OVERTIME, WHICH, UH, WE'VE DEFINITELY SEEN IN OTHER CITIES. 
          SO THAT'S PRETTY CONSISTENT. 
          BUT MY QUESTION AND SOMETHING THAT I'M STILL NOT CLEAR ON IS WHAT IMPACT CAN WE DEMONSTRATE ON GUN HOMICIDES AND ARREST OUTCOMES? RIGHT? WE'RE SEEING A HUNDRED ARRESTS AFTER 5,000 TILL 2% OF, OF ARRESTS THAT WE DON'T KNOW ARE ACTUALLY GOING ANYWHERE. 
          BUT WHAT CAN WE DEMONSTRATE IN TERMS OF REAL OUTCOMES ON THE PROBLEM THAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE SOLVING WITH THE SOFTWARE? WE KNOW THAT 9 1 1, THESE EMERGENCY CENTERS COME HERE SAYING THAT THEY NEED MORE MONEY. 
          WE KNOW THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN INVEST IN AND CAN CLEARLY ADDRESS THE PROBLEMS THAT WE'RE SEEING IN COMMUNITIES WHERE PEOPLE SAY THEY'RE NOT GETTING A REAL RESPONSE, THEY'RE WAITING ON THE PHONE FOR A LONG TIME. 
          THIS IS SOMETHING THAT $700,000 A YEAR WOULD GO VERY FAR ON. 
          THERE'S ALSO CLEAR RISKS OF SENDING POLICE INTO A NEIGHBORHOOD, THINKING ANYBODY IN THE, IN THE AREA IS A MORTAL THREAT, RIGHT? LIKE THIS IS A, A REAL CONCERN TO SHIFT OVER TO TRAFFIC STOPS. 
          THIS IS, IS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR HOUSTON. 
          WE ARE A, A CITY THAT HAS NEARLY HALF OF THE ENTIRE STATE'S VIOLENT TRAFFIC STOPS, THAT'S ABOUT FIVE EVERY SINGLE DAY. 
          THREE OF THOSE ARE BLACK PEOPLE LIKE ME. 
          THIS IS COMPLETELY, UM, THIS IS NOT WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN OTHER CITIES AND, AND COUNTIES ACROSS THE STATE. 
          SO THIS IS A HUGE PROBLEM. 
          I HEAR THAT EVERETT PENN IS WORKING ON IT. 
          THIS IS NOT, WE NEED SOMEBODY EXTERNAL. 
          WE NEED SOMEBODY REALLY WORKING ON THIS THAT'S GOING TO, UH, DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY FROM HPD. 
          AND I HOPE THAT YOU ALL WILL ALSO DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY FROM HPD ON THIS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, AND LAST WE HAVE KATYA. 
          I'M GONNA MESS UP YOUR LAST NAME. 
          I, I APOLOGIZE. 
          BAIN KATI. 
          YOU'RE ON GOING ONCE, TWICE. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          UM, THAT CONCLUDES OUR PUBLIC SPEAKERS. 
          UH, AGAIN, I WANNA THANK ALL OF OUR PRESENTERS, COUNCIL MEMBERS, STAFF, EVERYONE WHO JOINED US, AND INCLUDING OUR PUBLIC SPEAKERS TODAY. 
          UH, SPECIAL SHOUT OUT TO IT AND HTV, UH, FOR MAKING SURE THAT THE BROADCAST RUNS SMOOTHLY. 
          OUR NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING IS ACTUALLY GOING TO BE A BIT EARLIER IN MARCH. 
          IT'S ON MARCH 9TH. 
          THE AGENDA AND PRESENTATIONS CAN BE FOUND ONLINE AND ON THE COMMITTEE'S WEBPAGE. 
          UH, THE RECORDING OF THIS MEETING IS ALSO POSTED ON HTVS WEBSITE. 
          AND WITH THAT, THE MEETING IS ADJOURNED AT 3:30 PM THANK YOU ALL.
* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.