Title
Consider and take action to approve a request to allow the League City Police Department to submit a grant proposal to the Governor’s Office to seek funding from the Criminal Justice Grant Program to offset costs associated with funding the department’s digital forensics unit and to authorize the acceptance of such grant if awarded (Chief of Police)
Background:
If approved, this request will formalize City Council’s support for seeking grant funding for the Criminal Justice Grant Program to offset costs associated with funding the department’s digital forensics unit.
The Office of the Governor is soliciting grant applications from law enforcement agencies to fund projects and programs that promote public safety, reduce crime, and improve the criminal justice system. The police department hopes to use the awarded funds to equip a more comprehensive and up-to-date digital evidence lab with the necessary hardware and software programs to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of criminal investigations.
Most criminal investigations conducted by law enforcement have some form of digital evidence that can be collected, analyzed, and used to further the investigation. The amount of digital evidence available to law enforcement is ever-increasing due to our digitally connected society and the continued technological advancements. All digital evidence that needs to be collected and analyzed requires specially trained personnel and specific hardware, software, and storage capabilities to ensure all requirements are met to further the investigation and result in a successful disposition of the case.
In 2024, 82 cases had digital evidence to be processed and analyzed. These were mostly felony-level offenses that frequently involved crimes against persons. The League City Police Department has often relied on other agencies, such as the La Porte Police Department, the Pearland Police Department, and the Department of Homeland Security, to process most of the digital evidence that League City officers and detectives collected. On average, it takes at least three to six months to process the digital evidence when relying on these other agencies due to the backlog of all the evidence they have to process for their agency and others.
In January 2025, the police department assigned a full-time detective to a newly created Digital Forensics Unit. This detective is receiving training and experience to process digital evidence in-house, so the agency is not relying on other agencies. While this gives us the personnel needed, the unit must purchase the hardware, software, storage space, and other equipment to handle the workload.
The League City Police Department requests approval to submit a grant package estimated at approximately $149,800. This funding would pay for approximately:
• $65,000 in hardware such as workstations, monitors, laptops, server space, and officer furniture,
• $76,800 in software packages that assist with unlocking devices, processing, analyzing, and extracting data and evidence, and some training, and • $8,000 in training.
This grant does not require any match.
Attachments:
1. Proposed Resolution
2. Criminal Justice Grant Program FY2026
3. Criminal Justice Grant Program - Pre-Approval Grant Form
CONTRACT ORIGINATION:
FUNDING
{X} NOT APPLICABLE
STRATEGIC PLANNING
{ X } Addresses Strategic Planning Critical Success Factor # 3 Safe and Desirable Community