To order.

We are joined today by Council Members Flickinger, Ramirez, and Alcorn.

We're also joined by staff from the offices of Councilmember Thomas, Mayor Pro Tem Castax Tatum, Selinis, Pollard, Carter, Kamen, and Vice Chair Jackson's office.

Thank you everyone for being here today.

Did I miss anyone?

I think I got everyone.

Unfortunately, HTV is having some technical issues, and we are unable to have the slides on the T.

Oh, wait, I think they're trying to fix it right now.

We'll go ahead and get started and start it in the interest of time.

Just know that we're still working on getting the slides up for HTV.

We have two presentations.

The first is the Office of Policing Reform and Accountability, an update on the policing analytics and transparency hub.

And then our next presentation will be about the response management system update.

So first I'd like to call up Christina Nowak, Deputy Inspector General for the Office of Policing Reform and Accountability.

And it looks like the presentation is up now on HTV.

Hi everybody.

Morning.

Thank you.

Yeah, that's good.

Thank you.

So we were here giving a brief presentation in, I believe it was July of last year, talking about our plans to modernize the dashboard and transform what was known as the police transparency hub into what we have now created as the path.

So today we're just gonna build on that information.

We officially launched the path.

What is path?

Path stands for policing analytics and transparency hub.

And so we're gonna talk today a little bit about what you see when you go to the link, how that data is being shown, and the difference between how it was shown in the hub and how it is displayed now.

So next slide.

So Path now is a place where users can explore different transparency data sets together in one connected interactive system.

It lets people see the bigger picture, not just isolated numbers.

Next slide.

And this further supports our mission, which is to both strengthen external transparency and internal accountability mechanisms.

So the original police transparency hub was built on the RJS platform.

It served as the city's first major transparency initiative.

So the it provided multiple separate dashboard pages, including site and release, uh traffic stops, use of force and workforce data.

However, each dashboard functioned largely in isolation.

The system relied on static or semi-static visualizations.

So cross-dashboard interaction was limited, meaning users could not easily analyze relationships between data sets.

So the structure was heavily map centered, which was visually helpful but limited deeper analytical capability.

So this does not mean the RGIS cannot uh perform analytics, but its core strength is uh spatial visualization and geospatial analysis, but not unified enterprise uh analytic ability.

So that's all that means.

So the legacy hub provides public visibility uh but limited integrated analysis.

So this is exactly what the path was designed to improve.

Next slide, please.

So the path introduces dynamic interactive analytics.

It allows dynamic filtering across multiple data sets, and users can drill down from year to category to incident type, allowing for layered analysis.

Unlike the legacy hub, clicking one chart updates all other visuals in real time.

So this cross-visual filtering significantly enhances analytical insight.

We now have multi-year trend visualization built directly into the dashboards.

So data refreshers are automated and scheduled, eliminating manual update cycles.

Performance and response responsiveness have also improved, enhancing public usability.

So it simply means we have moved from static reporting to interactive analysis.

So to clearly illustrate this modernization, the next slide will show us uh side-by-side comparison.

Next slide, please.

So this is a platform transformation, not just a redesign.

And this slide shows the transition from RGIS to Power BI.

So previously, the environment was math focused with static charts.

Filtering was dashboard specific, and data sets were displayed separately.

Updates were manual or periodic.

Longitudinal analysis was limited.

It simply means users are not able to look at trends and patterns over time.

Reporting was snapshot-based rather than performance-driven.

So now with the path, we operate in a unified analytics and reporting environment.

Dashboards are interactive with drill-down capability.

Filtering works across dashboards, the data refreshes automated and scheduled, and we can perform multi-year dynamic trend analysis.

Data sets are linked within a single analytical framework.

Most importantly, analytics are governance ready and support oversight.

So this is just not a modernization of technology, it is a modernization of accountability.

Next slide.

So very shortly, the legacy hub is going to be archived, and so it will force users to now interact solely with PATH.

And so this will mark the end of isolated data viewing.

How Path supports transparency.

Well, instead of, and this just builds on what Tina just said about these specific modernizations, but instead of just displaying data, Path helps people understand the relationships with the data.

It makes the information clearer, it lets people filter by time period, category, or demographic.

So it really is specific to the needs of the users instead of instead of defining it by the creators, what we think is important, maybe different from what the user thinks is important.

And it shows trends over time.

It reduces fragmentation.

And instead of looking at each category separately, you can see how they connect to each other.

For example, you can explore how enforcement varies across different communities.

Or you can see whether officer experience relates to certain types of incidents.

Next slide.

So we're always looking for ways to enhance the data.

And so potential future enhancements include each of the categories listed on the slide, as well as in future phases, we are exploring additional validation protocols and expanded data set integration.

Obviously, this will be subject to operational feasibility, data governance, and alignment with city priorities.

We're also looking to enhance metadata transparency, meaning we can publish not just the numbers, but how the numbers are defined, categorized, and refreshed.

This will also help clarify legacy terminology.

Next slide.

Our vision.

The path moves us from simply posting numbers online to actually using data to improve public safety.

And that means working together across departments with the community, solving problems before they grow, and making decisions based on data.

The purpose of this presentation not only is to share the updates that we've made with this data dashboard with the council members, but also with the community as well.

We want to notify the community, and we have been announcing it.

We have also gone across social media to notify the community, because we want to invite them to play around with the data dashboard and come to us and give us feedback about what's useful to them and what's not useful to them, what kinds of things they are looking for that maybe our data dashboard doesn't have.

Transparency requires independent visibility into official systems of record.

Path provides that visibility in a structured analyzable and public format.

Transparency is not the end goal, accountability is.

Thank you so much for the presentation and for this work.

I can tell that you know a lot has gone into this and the updates are great.

Did you mention how often the data is updated on the website?

No, you said you get the raw data from HPD, but how often is it actually updated on the site?

As of now, it's once a month.

Once a month, okay.

And then do we have any data on how many people are actually going to the website to look at this data?

The views are about 1,300 per month.

So we are still working on creating that transition from police hub, transparency hub to this path.

So we're still working on that.

So as of now it's about 12 to 1300 site visits per month.

Great, thank you.

Um Councilmember Ramirez.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you both for the presentation.

Um this is up and running, is that right?

Correct.

Does it uh give us information on calls for service?

It does not, no.

It does not.

Okay.

Um will that be added possibly at some point?

I have spoken with HPD about the potential to add a calls for service um tab on our dashboard.

So that's something that we have already started to explore, but I don't have any like timeline for that as of yet.

Got it.

Um and obviously uh matter of uh public comment uh very frequently here or stops police interaction with immigrants.

Does does it break down uh according to whether or not the person the police officer deals with is an immigrant or not?

Or it does not.

Um my understanding is that the categories um come from what what is mandated by the state, and so that is not a bucket that the state is tracking right now.

Okay, great.

All right, thank you.

Councilmember Flickinger.

Just follow up on Councilman Ramirez's question.

Do police officers do you know, do they ask about immigrant status or citizenship when they make a stop?

I don't have that information.

Okay, thanks.

Councilmember Alcorn.

Thank you.

I I've I've been around, I've looked at this a lot of times.

It's a great work.

I mean, you guys have done great work on this.

It's really you can break it down and filter it by dates and every every which way.

Uh you know, there's been a lot of talk talk about traffic stops lately, so I'm kinda I've been going through that data.

And some of it what what is incident to arrest mean?

Do you know that or do any data as HPD?

For traffic stops, like there's different reasons for search, like no search requested, probable cause or reasonable suspicion, incident to arrest.

Maybe Ramirez might know this.

Um, inventory search as a result of towing, contraband evidence in plain view or consent.

These are on non-traffic, non-um safety related traffic stops.

Do you know what incident to arrest means?

My understanding is if a search comes incident to arrest, there are facts and circumstances that arise during the interaction that causes that brings probable cause of reasonable suspicion for the search.

Thank you.

But but great job on this.

I mean, you can really um slice and dice it every which way, and I know y'all put a lot of work into this, so thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember.

Council Memory Davis.

Thank you, madam chair.

Uh thank you both for your presentation of what I heard.

Can I refer back to you on the data integration in path?

Uh that's a question there.

You have the list of craft crime data, traffic stops, use force, all of those.

So under the crime data, um, what what does it break down when it it says on the integration in path?

What does the crime data give?

Top list of crime data.

Because we get those reports, you know, Sonia sends us, we we ask for it periodically because of something that we're trying to do in initiation of a new program that I've talked with Chief Diaz and HBD about.

So what does it basically there?

Yes, if I'm understanding you correctly, are you looking at the first tab that's council district, and then it has crime data underneath?

Is that correct?

And so crime data includes all of the types of incidents or offenses that um occur in the district, and so you can filter it out by you know, crime type, uh crime by time of day by council district, by premise.

So whether it's a home, a business, something like that.

Um, I believe time and whether it's personal property crime.

So all of those things are the breakdown of the crime data.

Okay.

So with that, does it indicate the person's like, particularly what we're looking at is the number of crimes committed by youth.

The number, so is that part that may be a little bit broader.

Because we pull the numbers we use from the state by way of and crime stoppers.

So but this doesn't provide that.

So what you're looking for again, correct me if I'm wrong, is that you want to know the subject of the crime, the age of the person.

Absolutely.

Um I don't know if I don't believe this shows that, and I'd have to look at the data a little bit more to see if that's something that we can do.

And if you're interested in that, you and I can have a conversation about that.

I would I would love to have that meeting with it because we're putting together this initiative that we rolled out a year ago called PPP.

I remember, yes.

Remember that?

Right.

So and and we're monitoring it, and you know, crime is going down in our city, but I've always indicated, but the age group of people that are committing the crimes are going up, and that should be a concern to every district at large, doesn't matter.

Those young people numbers are going up, and so that's what we're trying to target so that the program can address the fact that young people are committing more, you know, robberies, um, you know, assaults, that type of thing.

So I just want to know since you're upgrading to this, which I think is certainly outstanding, but I just want to know, and I like to meet to get those because we're working on that as we speak to present it to our ministers advisory group.

Okay, yeah, we can definitely do that.

Thank you.

Thank you both.

I don't see anyone else in the queue again.

Thank you so much for your work on this and for the presentation.

Our next presentation um will be director Kent about the records management system.

And we also have um Melissa Cummins and Brandon Williams Thank you all for being here.

Okay, thank you so much for having us, and I do want to thank Dr.

Cummins again.

This is our second time back to City Council.

We presented at the public safety committee meeting on November 3rd.

And I also want to thank Brandon Williams.

Brandon is the Chief Technology Officer and Executive Liaison for all public safety departments.

That's one of the changes that we made in fairly recent history, um, so that we have him as an asset and a resource that will be coming to speak with you in the future.

So today we are here to answer a couple of main questions that many council members, especially you, Councilmember Peck, who've been interested in both the schedule for the records management system project as well as expenditures.

So we'll go to the next slide.

Um just we can do the next one again.

So let's go one more.

This is the timeline that is virtually identical to what we showed you in November.

The first thing I want to draw your attention to is that that estimated go live date has not moved since we spoke to you a few months ago.

It is still anticipated to be October of 2026.

But what we are forecasting here, and we want to draw council's attention to or the upcoming council actions that you'll be hearing from us continually about this project.

So starting with in the March to April time frame, we will be coming back to City Council with an amendment to the VRSA term RMS agreement.

Remember, VRSATERM is the incoming vendor.

Um that will be a zero dollar amendment.

We will use the existing spending authority that city council has already approved for that agreement, but we are addressing some additional scope requirements for incorporating the Houston Arson Bureau, part of HFD, who will be leveraging the new RMS system, as well as enabling the community reports functionality.

Now, with that said, we've already talked about that the go live date is still forecasted to be October of 26th.

And then let's talk a little bit about some of the financial changes that uh first of all, we want to thank you.

Council recently approved an amendment to the Central Square contract, which is for the uh incumbent product Tiburon, which is the current RMS system.

So the bullet points below just give you a little bit more granularity on when we came back to council and for what amendments.

You may recall uh that on April 30th we requested extensions in two different blocks of time.

The first was a six-month extension, which got us from May of 25 to November of 25, and that was for just over a million dollars.

And that same request also included two option extensions for three months each for a combined total of that one million plus the 628,000 was to get an additional 12 months.

Those were things where quite frankly we were projecting to City Council what we thought we might need, but we didn't know.

And we were working diligently to get the records management project into a position where we knew that we could be successful with a productive go live.

Subsequent to that, uh you most recently approved on February 18th, the extension costs for $832,000, which was the extension from May of 26 to November of 26.

And that was to carry us through to what our projected go live period is in October plus one more month.

Now we did at that time also ask for spending authority, which quite frankly is really just insurance.

It's asking your spending authority in case we determine as we get through the go live period that there are additional reasons why we might need to continue accessing the legacy system.

And again, those are in two separate optional extensions of three months each.

Both of these situations, both the first one, which was on April 30th, included some spending authority for additional third-party applications which integrate in with the RMS functionality.

And if we are able to finish the project and not execute those two additional six-month options, which is what we are forecasting at this point, we will not have to renew those third-party applications.

But we do have that capacity included in the spending authority that you authorized on February 18th.

Okay, so the next slide will show you just a different way of looking at the financials that we just talked about.

One of the questions was how much have we spent keeping the existing uh Tiburon RMS system uh in play?

And so you can see that going back to FY22, 23 in the dark Navy blue, those are part of the original contract with Central Square.

The lighter blue represent those extensions that we've been talking about.

And then you'll notice in the FY27 column where we blocked off just under 900,000 in white.

Those are those two three-month extensions that at this point we do not anticipate having to execute, but you have authorized.

And with that, um, I think the next slide is just open for your questions.

Thank you so much for giving us that update.

It was very helpful.

I'm I don't see anyone in the queue, but we appreciate the update on that for all the work you're doing.

Absolutely.

Thank you very much.

All right.

Now we will move to our public speakers up first.

Um, Laura Gallier.

Brian Dotson, is he on virtually?

He's not on.

Okay.

Um, and Doug Smith.

Good morning.

I am very impressed with the path presentation and what they have accomplished there.

I have a couple questions regarding that.

Uh the Office of Police responsibility, I think is the title of the office.

Where does that stand in the who does it report to?

Where does it stand in the organizational chart?

Yeah, it goes to the inspector general's office with Christina Now.

So it's not in the police department.

No.

Okay.

Uh second question.

Uh there's a uh uh one of the slides there regarding uh crime statistics, and they talk about use of force and various other things and disciplinary action.

Is this report is the uh is the uh the uh information by officer?

Is there are there officers' names associated with uh various crime statistics that are in there, or does it show which officers have been disciplined and why I don't believe that's on the um on that yeah, thank you, Alan.

Um there's the website right there.

I don't believe that that's on there.

What's the the disciplinary action is not on there?

For each particular officer, is that correct?

Yeah.

We we can um double check and get some more information for you.

Um, if you do this, I'd be surprised, and uh that's why I was curious about it.

Hold on one second.

Staff from Council Member Pollard's office.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Uh thank you, Doug.

Uh great presentation, Christina.

So the original website had uh officers identified with a unique code that would show their um what some of the disciplinary actions were and the types of um stops or arrests they were making, which helped us with the transparency part and and also was able to um have the accountability if we had quote unquote bad apples that we needed to uh focus more on.

But I don't think uh so they did add it.

Okay, so I stand corrected.

They will have it up there or do have it up there now.

Um so can you I'm sorry, can we ask you?

Yeah, it it is up there, it's not by their name, their number, yeah, their employee number, not by their actual name.

Is that correct?

No, do you want to come on and explain?

So if that's the case, if you see the same number over and over, there's a problem.

Yeah, yeah, basically, yeah.

So it has a masked ID, so you can't look at it and say, okay, this is Officer Davis, for example.

Um, but like you said, if you see one mass ID, let's say XXAA, and you see it a hundred times, it's easy to draw the conclusion that one particular officer um committed those 100 infractions, but we don't identify that would require um contacting HPD directly, and they may or may not, depending on the public access information.

I don't think they want to do that.

That's why I asked the question.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

All right, I don't see anyone on the speakers list.

Um our next schedule meeting will be on Tuesday, April 14th at 10 o'clock A.

M.

We stand adjourned.

Thank you, everyone.