City of Miami Police FY 2017 SAFE-ITR Inventory, Tracking and Reporting Project

With over 440,000 residents in the city of Miami, the Miami Police Department (MPD) oversees the safety of the largest municipality in Miami-Dade County and the second largest city in the state of Florida.

In 2015, in cooperation with the Florida Sheriffs Association and the Florida Police Chiefs Association, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) developed and launched a survey of Florida's sheriff and police agencies to determine the number of unsubmitted sexual assault kits (SAKs). The assessment of unsubmitted sexual assault kits revealed there were over 13,435 unsubmitted SAKs throughout the state of Florida, and approximately 9,484 of them should be submitted. The report found that the city of Miami Police Department accounted for 2,243 of the unsubmitted SAKs, by far the highest number for any single law enforcement agency in the assessment.

Currently, MPD uses an outdated 12-year old database system for the management of SAKs. Lack of query capabilities, real-time tracking information and a system reliant on manual chain-of-custody, leads to incorrect data and delays the processing of SAKs. Our current WinAce system restricts the ways in which we can categorize, catalog, and identify SAKs. An updated Automated Information Technology (AIT) system, would give MPD the ability to have an accurate inventory database that follows the progression of SAKs from submission to disposition with an unalterable, electronic chain-of-custody trail. This enhancement will significantly improve the accuracy and accountability over the current SAKs management process.

This project will support FDLE's plan to reduce the statewide backlog. Therefore, the city of Miami Police Department is requesting $264,263 to improve the processes for the following: Task 1-Inventory, Task 2-Tracking, and Task 3-Reporting. The grant monies will fund the following items:

1. Acquire an advanced AIT system to include installation, data transfer, and training on the new system;

2. Overtime to form an evidence overtime team of property and evidence unit personnel to work on tasks 1, 2, and 3 throughout the life of the grant; and train MPD sworn personnel on the new AIT system.

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