$3.2M Dallas Police Contract Would Consolidate Investigative Tech

The Dallas Police Department could consolidate several investigative technology services under a five-year, $3.2 million agreement scheduled for City Council consideration later this month.

The proposed sole-source contract with LeadsOnline would provide a subscription-based system for searching pawned and secondhand property records along with software used for data analysis, investigative research, cellular mapping, information sharing across cases and cellphone extraction, according to an Aug. 10 city memo.

The agreement is scheduled to go before the Dallas City Council on Aug. 25. Funding would come from the city's General Fund and would be subject to annual appropriations.

The pawned and secondhand property system would allow the Police Department's Fusion Center to search records from pawnshops and secondhand stores nationwide as part of criminal investigations. The system provides information about property being sold and links it with the seller.

Texas requires pawnshops to make property transaction information available to local law enforcement, according to the city.

Dallas currently maintains the investigative services included in the proposal through multiple agreements. The city said consolidating them under one contract would reduce administrative inefficiencies and fragmented workflows while improving data integration and maintaining continuity of service.

City officials identified LeadsOnline as the sole-source provider of the proposed integrated system. According to the memo, the platform combines proprietary technology with exclusive access to a nationwide transaction-records database and investigative tools that the city said cannot be replicated by other vendors.