A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to a response to a Policy Order that was adopted on December 14, 2020 as part of the Public Safety Committee Report from October 7, 2020, regarding data on ShotSpotter, OMEGA Dashbord and COPLINK

ADDRESS ALL COMMUNICATIONS TO 125 SIXTH STREET, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 02142 TELEPHONE [phone removed] WEB www.cambridgepolice.org FACEBOOK facebook.com/CambridgePolice TWITTER twitter.com/CambridgePolice Louis A. DePasquale City Manager Dr. Branville G. Bard, Jr. Police Commissioner To: City Manager, Louis A. DePasquale From: Police Commissioner, Branville G. Bard, Jr. Date: January 5, 2021 Ref.: POR 2020 #291, dated December 14, 2020 Re: Data on ShotSpotter, OMEGA Dashboard and COPLINK The purpose of this response is to address POR #2020-291, dated December 14, 2020, whereby the City Manager was requested to work with the Police Department to provide data on ShotSpotter, the Boston Regional Intelligence Center (BRIC) and COPLINK to the City Council stemming from the October 7, 2020 Public Safety Committee Meeting. ShotSpotter Since January 1, 2015, the Cambridge Police Department has received a total of 326 calls to 911 for gunshots, of which 68 were confirmed gunshot incidents. Of the 326 calls to 911 for gunshots, 185 originated from the ShotSpotter covered area and 36 of these were also ShotSpotter activations (when ShotSpotter alerts the Police Department). Calls to 911 that are not confirmed as gunshot incidents often result in confirmed fireworks, vehicles backfiring, tires popping, or other explosive- like sounds. ShotSpotter has activated 105 times (2 incidents had more than one activation) during the same period with 35 being confirmed shooting incidents, 40 activations were for a single gunshot, 38 activations were for multiple gunshots and 27 activations for possible gunshots. As a result of these ShotSpotter activations, there were 13 arrests made and 8 victims treated on scene. Comparatively, during the same time period the rest of the City had 7 arrests and 10 victims treated on scene. As a result of a ShotSpotter activation, Cambridge Police Officers arrived on scene an average of 51 seconds faster than a call to 911 alone, which could be significant in treating a victim and/or identifying a suspect(s).

ADDRESS ALL COMMUNICATIONS TO 125 SIXTH STREET, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 02142 SHOTSPOTTER 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 911 Calls for Gunshots Citywide 43 56 51 80 51 45 911 Calls for Gunshots ShotSpotter Area 27 32 24 49 25 28 ShotSpotter Activations 10 13 14 25 26 15 Confirmed Gunshot Incidents Citywide 07 12 11 22 11 05 Confirmed Gunshot Incidents with ShotSpotter Activation (1 incident in 2015 involved blank rounds) 05 06 02 15 06 02 Arrests in ShotSpotter Area 02 02 01 06 01 00 Arrests in Gun Shot Incidents Citywide 02 02 05 06 06 01 Victims Treated in ShotSpotter Area 01 03 00 04 00 00 Victims Treated Citywide 03 07 07 05 01 00 Confirmed Gunshot Incidents in ShotSpotter Area with 911 Calls 05 11 07 14 05 03 Confirmed Gunshot Incidents ShotSpotter Activation NO 911 Call 01 02 00 02 03 00 Confirmed Gunshot Incidents NO ShotSpotter Activation with a 911 Call 02 07 05 01 02 01 Average Response Time with ShotSpotter Activation 128 secs 77 secs 152 secs 122 secs 119 secs 120 secs Average Response Time 911 Call Alone 146 secs 185 secs 148 secs 192 secs 137 secs 205 secs Average ShotSpotter Response Time Differential -18 secs -108 secs +04 secs -70 secs -18 secs -85 secs What Federal Agencies have access to the BRIC Direct access to BRIC-maintained data and information systems is limited specifically to authorized personnel assigned to the BRIC. This currently includes only Boston Police Department personnel. Key elements of the BRIC’s mission are the analysis of data and information from disparate, trusted sources; ensuring the protection of privacy, civil rights and civil liberties throughout its operational procedures; and the sharing of intelligence related to threats to life, property and public safety with a broad range of law enforcement and public safety stakeholders. As such, requests for information received by the BRIC are handled on a case-by-case bases, taking into consideration the requesting entities right to know/need to know, and both the legality and appropriateness of sharing the requested information. All information sharing policies comply with the City of Boston Trust Act, which forbids the Boston Police Department, and therefore the BRIC, from sharing information for the purpose of assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in any way with the enforcement of civil immigration violations.

ADDRESS ALL COMMUNICATIONS TO 125 SIXTH STREET, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 02142 The BRIC administers the Region’s OMEGA CrimeView Dashboard, which a is web-based system that grants participating local law enforcement agencies from the Metro Boston Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI)/ Homeland Security Region, tools to analyze and visualize their crime data. It is used primarily for identifying crime patterns that cross jurisdictional boundaries. The Cambridge Police does not share confidential reports with the BRIC/OMEGA CrimeView Dashboard. The only authorized users of the OMEGA CrimeView Dashboard are BRIC Analysts and authorized law enforcement personnel from the 9 Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) municipalities that submit data to the platform; no Federal Agencies have access to the platform. If a Federal Agency were to request access to Cambridge data from the BRIC or another UASI municipality, they would refer that Federal Agency directly to Cambridge to request data. What Federal Agencies have access to COPLINK Any Police Agency in the Commonwealth that contributes data to COPLINK has access to the data it holds. The following Federal Agencies have access: FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Homeland Security Investigations (which is the criminal investigative section of ICE). The Enforcement Removal Operations section of ICE does not have access. Information held in COPLINK is limited to police reports; no intelligence information is held in COPLINK. The Cambridge Police Department does not share confidential reports (e.g. rape, domestic violence, etc.) with COPLINK. Records Retention Policies All Public Safety Agencies in the Commonwealth are required to follow the “Massachusetts Statewide Records Retention Schedule.” Section J of the Schedule applies to Public Safety Agencies: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/arc/arcpdf/MA_Statewide_Records_Schedule.pdf I hope you find this response satisfactory, and if there are any additional questions, information needed or concerns regarding this matter, please let me know. Sincerely, Dr. Branville, G. Bard, Jr. Police Commissioner