This RFP seeks a qualified vendor to perform the following scope of work: Project Start-up (Week 1-2) Vendor will convene a project kick-off meeting with the Chief of the Anchorage Police Department (APD), the Chief Equity Officer, and the Municipal Attorney to review and confirm the scope of work, timeline, deliverables, and address any questions or concerns at the outset of the project. During the start-up period, the Municipal Attorney will work with the vendor to execute data sharing agreements and address any other critical items. Phase 1: Research and Analysis (Week 3-10) 1. Vendor will conduct a comprehensive quantitative analysis of APD data related to use of force, and, specifically, officer-involved shootings, to identify common factors that contribute to situations where APD use of force occurs. Initial background documents and data sets will be provided to the vendor by APD once data sharing agreements are in place. Specifically, the vendor should identify common factors of calls for service that led to an APD use of force compared to those that did not. The vendor will specifically consider factors related to race, age, disability status, language(s) spoken, behavioral health needs, and any other relevant factors to identify possible patterns that contribute to APD use of force. 2. Vendor will conduct key informant and other stakeholder interviews to gather qualitative data to help interpret results from the quantitative analysis and to gather additional information to understand common factors that contribute to situations where APD use of force occurs. Key informants will be identified at the beginning of Phase 1. 3. Vendor will compile preliminary findings from the quantitative and qualitative analysis and prepare a comprehensive and accessible presentation to be shared with the Municipal Attorney, Chief of Police, and Chief Equity Officer for their review and feedback. Vendor will incorporate the feedback and develop a Phase 1: Findings memo that summarizes themes and common factors to inform Phase 2 of the project. Phase 2: Review of Relevant APD Policies and Procedures and Training Protocols (Month 3-4) 4. Using the themes and common factors identified in Phase 1 of the project, the Vendor will work with APD leadership to identify relevant policies and procedures, and training protocols to be reviewed. These may include policies that are internal to APD and not available for public review. At minimum, the following areas will be reviewed: patrol tactics and procedures; firearms; defensive tactics; de-escalation; non-lethal weapons; use of force (including fourth amendment principles consistent with the Constitution of the State of Alaska); communication, including language access for individuals with Limited English Proficiency (LEP); professionalism; ethics and integrity; stress management and awareness of secondary trauma; cultural competency and understanding of intergenerational trauma; understanding of mental health and substance use disorders and trauma-informed approaches; problem solving; conflict management; Building relationships; methods of community engagement. The review will analyze APD policies and procedures and training protocols with comparison to best practices in policing. The review will identify areas of strength and improvement in the existing policies and procedures and training protocols, and additional policies and procedures and training protocols that could be added. 5. Vendor will compile findings from the review of APD policies and procedures and training protocols into a comprehensive and accessible presentation to be shared with the Municipal Attorney, Chief of Police, and Chief Equity Officer for their review and feedback. Vendor will incorporate the feedback and develop a Phase 2: Findings memo that summarizes the strengths and areas for improvement to inform Phase 3 of the project. Phase 3: Recommendations (Month 5-6) 6. Vendor will use the results from Phases 1 and 2 of the project to develop a first draft of recommendations to be shared with the Municipal Attorney, Chief of Police, and Chief Equity Officer for their review and feedback. Recommendations must be organized by timeframe (short, medium and long-term), and by categories of implementation to include operational liability, policy and procedure development, training, investigations, and community engagement. Vendor will also provide a set of metrics that APD can use to monitor implementation of the recommendations, and to measure changes in officer behaviors and performance.
