HomeMy WebLinkAboutContract 34290 FORTWORTH
MEMORANDUM TO THE RECORD:
TO: CONTRACT FILE NO. 34290
DATE: November 16, 2006
FROM: Marty Hendrix, City Secretary
SUBJECT: REQUEST TO FILE "COPY" OF AN MEMORANDUM OF
UNDERSTANDING WITH RTI INTERNATIONAL AND THE FORT
WORTH POLICE DEPARTMENT CRIME LABORATORY
BACKGROUND
The Memorandum of Understanding to describe the agreement between RTI International (RTI)
and the Fort Worth Police Department Crime Laboratory Concerning the Fort Worth Police
Department Crime Laboratory's' Participation in the National Forensic Laboratory Information
System (NFLIS) was not properly processed for attest by the City Secretary and for the issuance
of a Contract Number when the one (1) original was executed by the Ralph Mendoza, Chief of
Police, Assistant City Manager Joe Paniagua and by the City Attorney's Office, Assistant City
Attorney Leann Guzman. This Memorandum of Understanding was not required to be processed
through the Fort Worth City Council. The memorandum was executed with only one original
that was sent to Valley Rachal, Program Director, RTI International, National Forensic
Laboratory Information System for signature and only a copy was sent back for the City's
official files.
AUTHORIZATION FOR CONTRACT NUMBER
Per the direction of Assistant City Attorney Leann Guzman, the City Secretary's Office has been
requested to issue a contract number, attest the "copy" of the document and place in the City of
Fort Worth's official contract files.
This request has been approved and a contract number issued.
CITY SECRETARY'S OFFICE
THE CITY OF FORT WORTH * 1000 THROCKMORTON STREET * FORT WORTH, TEXAS 76102
(817) 871-6150 * FAX (817) 871-6196
Printed on recycled paper
FUKTrFV�f3RTH
Police Department
Fiscal & Equipment Management Division
Inter-Office Correspondence �
Date: September 14,2006
RECEIVED
To: Marty Hendrix, City Secre ry� r+
� CITY 4F FORT WORTH
From: John Ramirez,ASM Polic CITYSECREIARY cb
Subject: Memorandum of Understanding
The attached Memorandum of Understanding was received by this office on today's date.
It appears that only one original was signed and executed, as the participating agency
provided the department a photocopy of the original document for our file.
The department requests that this be accepted and recorded as an official document by
your office.
^'�ETAARY
NATIONAL FORENSIC LABORATORY INFORMATION SYSTEM
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
May 10, 2006
The purpose of this Memorandum of Understanding is to describe the agreement
between RTI International (RTI) and the Fort Worth Police Department Crime
Laboratory concerning the Fort Worth Police Department Crime Laboratory's
participation in the National Forensic Laboratory Information System (NFLIS).
Overview of NFLIS
NFLIS, a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) program, systematically collects
results from drug analyses conducted by State and local forensic laboratories. NFLIS
data help provide a comprehensive picture of our Nation's drug problem and inform
strategic and tactical drug control plans, policies, and operations. Under a contract with
the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), RTI, located in Research Triangle Park,
North Carolina, is establishing NFLIS in partnership with the DEA and State and local
laboratories around the country. RTI is a not-for-profit, grant and contract research
organization closely associated with the University of North Carolina, Duke University,
and North Carolina State University.
RTI began planning and implementing NFLIS in September 1997. NFLIS is now a fully
functioning system of over 260 laboratories that collects drug analyses results from the
Nation's State and local forensic laboratories. NFLIS is designed to provide information
to laboratories that participate and report to the system as well as providing information
about the national drug problem and its characteristics to the laboratory staffs, local law
enforcement agencies, the DEA, and others. NFLIS is designed and implemented as an
ongoing system that will continue for the foreseeable future. The DEA is currently
expanding the partnership with the laboratories to all State and local forensic
laboratories, including Federal laboratories.
Page 1 of 4
v
Memorandum of Understanding
NFLIS
May-10-06
Terms of Agreement
This section outlines the responsibilities of RTI International as the developer and
manager of NFLIS and of the Fort Worth Police Department Crime Laboratory, as a
participant in NFLIS:
Responsibilities of RTI:
1. If necessary, RTI will provide data encryption software to the Fort Worth Police
Department Crime Laboratory to use in the transfer of data to RTI.
2. RTI agrees to accommodate the data format most convenient for the Fort Worth
Police Department Crime Laboratory, and to be responsible for necessary data
recoding and reformatting.
3. RTI agrees to perform routine data edit checks and will contact the lab regarding
missing or out-of-range data.
4. RTI agrees to implement security procedures especially developed for NFLIS and
approved by the DEA for receiving, storing, and disseminating data reported by the
Fort Worth Police Department Crime Laboratory.
5. If needed, RTI will provide moderate resources to facilitate the Fort Worth Police
Department Crime Laboratory's participation NFLIS. These resources can include
programming and implementing a NIMS and providing a PC or other similar
equipment to meet the requirements for collecting and reporting the NFLIS data
while also supporting the operations of the Laboratory's drug sector.
6. If needed, RTI will directly pay someone, chosen by the Fort Worth Police
Department Crime Laboratory management staff, to enter the NFLIS data on an off-
hours basis. A Web-based data entry procedure can be considered for the data
entry. RTI technical staff will train the person selected.
Responsibilities of the Ft. Worth Police Department Crime Laboratory:
1. The Fort Worth Police Department Crime Laboratory management staff agrees to
report to RTI, on a monthly basis, information for controlled substances violation
cases submitted to the lab by law enforcement agencies in its jurisdiction. As many
as possible of the following data items will be reported:
• Laboratory case number. Unique identifier assigned to a submission by the
laboratory.
Ppge 2 of 4
Memorandum of Undernanding
NFLIS
May-]0-06
• Laboratory item/exhibit number. Unique identifying number assigned by the
laboratory to each integral component of physical evidence within a submission or
case that is examined and individually specified in a lab report.
• Submission/receipt date. Date physical evidence submitted/received by the
laboratory for analysis.
• Location of the submitting agency. County, city, and or zip code of the submitting
agency.
• Form of material. Description of the physical form (i.e., crystal, powder, liquid,
tablets, capsules, caplets) of each item/exhibit within a submission or case received
for analysis.
• Quantity. For each item/exhibit within a submission or case received for analysis,
quantity of material in grams/milligrams (weight), mL (liquid), or units (tablets,
capsules).
• Date case analyzed. Approximate date the analyses for the case was completed.
• Controlled substance(s) identified. For each item/exhibit within a submission or case
received for analysis, all controlled substances that are identified by lab analysis.
2. The Fort Worth Police Department Crime Laboratory will report these data in
electronic format(via diskette, CD-ROM, e-mail, etc.) or via the web-data entry
process as agreed. The exact reporting format will be decided in discussions
between RTI and the Fort Worth Police Department Crime Laboratory and will be
based on convenience to the lab.
3. Other items of information routinely recorded in electronic format may also be
reported if available, to include: name of submitting agency, circumstances of
evidence acquisition, origin of drug, name of manufacturer, packaging or markings,
cocaine purity, heroin purity, methamphetamine/amphetamine purity, secondary
active drug(s) identified, and non-controlled substance(s) identified.
4. The Fort. Worth Police Department Crime Laboratory understands that it will be
listed as a NFLIS participant in reports and other related documents distributed by
RTI or the DEA. RTI and or DEA will not publish the laboratory's specific data
without permission of the laboratory's management staff.
Access to NFLIS Data by the Fort Worth Police Department Crime Laboratory:
➢ NFLIS Reports —The Fort Worth Police Department Crime Laboratory will receive
regular reports summarizing the data collected in NFLIS as well as special reports
Page 3 of 4
Memorandum of Understanding
NFLIS
May-10-06
addressing specific NFLIS topics. Produced and disseminated by RTI, the reports
will minimize complex technical material, will include graphics and other user-friendly
formats, and will be available in hardcopy form. RTI and the DEA will make reports
and data available through the World Wide Web NFLIS Web site .
hftr)s://www.nflis/deadiversion.usdoi.-gov.
➢ Access to the NFLIS Interactive Data Site —The NFLIS Interactive Data Site will be
configured to allow the Fort Worth Police Department Crime Laboratory to access its
own data at the individual case level, data from other individual labs in an
aggregated (or summary) format, as well as aggregated regional and national data.
The lab will have the capacity to query these data using standard queries (to be
augmented as needed) and limited capacity to generate customized reports (e.g.,
examination of drugs analyzed by drug type, time period, and geographical area).
RTI staff will program a specific query or queries for the laboratory staff if needed.
Termination
NFLIS is designed as an on-going system, but RTI understands that circumstances may
develop that would result in the Fort Worth Police Department Crime Laboratory's
withdrawal from the system, either on a temporary or permanent basis. It is understood
that either the Fort Worth Police Department Crime Laboratory, or RTI, may terminate
this agreement with 30 days notice to the other party and the DEA.
APPROVALS
C _Z3-ob
Ralph Mendoza Date
Chief of Police
Ft. Worth Police Department
--y'L7 0�
Joe Pani ua Date
Assistant ity na er
Attested By APPROVED AS TO
(FORM AI`!D LEGALITY:
�rMlaHendr' ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY
rttyy
city Secretary Page 4 of 4
Memorandum of Understanding
NFLIS
May-10-06
i
v �
Valley Rach Dat
Program Director, R International
National Forensic La oratory Information System
cc: Liqun Wong, DEA Program Officer
File 0208763
Page 5 of 4
)rle-
Health.Social,and Economics Research
T 3040 Cornwallis Road ■ PO Box 12194 ■ Research Triangle Park,NC 27709-2194 ■ USA
I N T E R N A T 1 0 N A L Telephone 919-S41-5800 ■ Fax 919-541-7384 ■ www.rti.org
September 8, 2006
Mr„ Thomas A. Stimpson
Manager, Forensic Division
Fort Worth Police Department Criminalistics Laboratory
350 W. Belknap St., Room 406A
Fort Worth, TX 76102-2004
Dear Mr. Stimpson:
The Drug.Enforcement Administration (DEA) of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and RTI
International would like to take this opportunity to welcome the Fort Worth Police Department
Criminalistic Laboratory to the National Forensic Information System (NFLIS). Participation of the
Fort Worth PD laboratory in NFLIS will greatly enhance representation of Texas in the system
nationally and specifically of the Fort Worth area:
For your records I have enclosed four copies of the signed MOU. Please distribute these as
you deem appropriate. As you know, Jeff Ancheta and Gina Geercken have been in contact.with Ms.
Pen ly Alvis regarding the data collection and that effort is underway, We will pay Ms. Alvis directly
for.her hours. Also, as we discussed; we have ordered a new computer that meets the specifications
we agreed to and it should.be delivered to your laboratory within two weeks. Please let us know if
therq are any issues regarding the computer..Note that the computer.was purchased for facilitating
participation in the NFLIS program; however, as appropriate, it may also be used to assist fulfilling
your laboratory's mission given the•NFLIS requirements are met.'
As you know, you will be able to access your case=by-case data as well as summary data via
the NFLIS Website. Your username and password are attached. Jeff Ancheta.—the senior systems
analyst for NFLIS—will,call you within the next few days to answer any questions regarding access to
the secure area of the Website. The Website address is https://www.nflis.deadiversion.usdoj_gov.
Again, thank you and Ms. Van-Munchrath for shepherding the MOU through the approval
process. And, please thank Chief Mendoza for his agreement to participate. We will present a poster
at the ASCLD meeting in early October; please come by and say hello..
Best egards,
Valley Rachal
RTI NFLIS Program Director
VR:c
Enclosures
cc: Elizabeth Van-Munchrath (Sen!or•Scientist, Fort Worth PD Lab)
Liqun Wong (DEA Program Officer)
Jeff Ancheta (RTI System Analyst) �r
Mike Baylor (RTI NFLIS Senior Forensic Scientist)
Gina Geercken (RTI NFLIS Coordinator)
0208763 File
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