SUBJECT
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SHERIFF - REQUEST FOR SINGLE SOURCE PROCUREMENTS OF TOXICOLOGY AND CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE TECHNOLOGY FROM GERSTEL AND AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES (DISTRICTS: ALL)
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OVERVIEW
The ability for the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department Regional Crime Laboratory (Crime Lab) to perform toxicology analysis is vital to the County of San Diego. Much of the equipment procured by the Crime Lab to perform toxicology analysis is solely manufactured by Agilent. The items the Crime Lab is seeking to procure for toxicology will be procured from GERSTEL and manufactured by both GERSTEL and Agilent Technologies. This procurement package containing an Agilent Gas Chromatograph 8890 (GC-MS) and a GERSTEL Multi-Purpose Sampler (MPS) robotic sampler is a collaboration between the two companies, GERSTEL and Agilent Technologies, and is only available through GERSTEL. GERSTEL is the only vendor that can configure and deliver such a system encompassing the necessary analytical sample preparation and introduction capabilities with complete software control of the GERSTEL and Agilent components. The Agilent GC-MS with Gerstel MPS robotic sampler will allow the Crime Lab’s Forensic Toxicology Section to advance their testing for volatile compounds to ensure accurate and specific chemical identification. These systems will also allow the Crime Lab to expand volatile testing to commonly used inhalant drugs as recommended by the National Safety Council, rather than send samples that need inhalant testing to a third-party laboratory at an additional cost. This will be the first ever GERSTEL system for the Crime Lab.
The Crime Lab is also seeking to purchase another Agilent 8890 Gas Chromatography System from Agilent Technologies, which is an analytical instrument that combines features of gas-chromatography and mass-spectrometry to identify various substances within a certain test sample. The Crime Lab’s Controlled Substances Unit currently has three Agilent Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) instruments used to identify various drugs within a given sample. However, two of the three instruments are no longer supported under the manufacturer’s maintenance contracts, as they are from the early 2000’s and have since been replaced with newer models. These instruments will also no longer work with the upgraded network technology currently being implemented in the Crime Lab, such as the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS). To ensure that the Controlled Substances Section is still able to process more than 5,000 items a year, one additional GC-MS is needed, for a total of two.
Today’s actions request the Board of Supervisors to approve two single source procurements based on standardization where the procurement of goods from these particular vendors are beneficial for reasons including maintenance, repair, training, and interoperability. The Crime Lab currently has GC-MS instruments from Agilent Technologies, therefore, continuing with both GERSTEL and Agilent Technologies ensures absolute compatibility with existing instruments and software.
RECOMMENDATIONS
SHERIFF
1. In accordance with Board Policy A-87, Competitive Procurement, approve and authorize the Director, Department of Purchasing and Contracting to enter into negotiations with GERSTEL and subject to successful negotiations and determination of a fair and reasonable price, award contracts for toxicology analysis technology for up to one year and four one-year option periods and an additional six months, if needed, and to amend the contracts as needed to reflect changes to requirements and funding, subject to the approval of the Sheriff.
2. In accordance with Board Policy A-87, Competitive Procurement, approve and authorize the Director, Department of Purchasing and Contracting to enter into negotiations with Agilent Technologies, and subject to successful negotiations and determination of a fair and reasonable price, award contracts for controlled substances analysis technology for up to one year and four one-year option periods and an additional six months, if needed, and to amend the contracts as needed to reflect changes to requirements and funding, subject to the approval of the Sheriff.
EQUITY IMPACT STATEMENT
Identification of people convicted of crimes is crucial in the criminal justice process to deliver accountability and bring justice and healing to victims. Standardization of tools and analysis is critical for over 30 law enforcement and criminal justice agencies to ensure a fair and equitable justice system in both the defense and prosecution of crimes. Due to the uniqueness of sample preparation and delivery of analysis, standardizing equipment at the Crime Lab ensures consistency and that the highest quality service is provided to the County and other criminal justice agencies.
SUSTAINABILITY IMPACT STATEMENT
Today’s actions to single source with GERSTEL and Agilent Technologies supports the County of San Diego’s Sustainability Goal of providing just and equitable access for victims of crimes and those who may have been wrongfully accused of a crime. Considering the regional support the Regional Crime Laboratory’s forensic science services provide to law enforcement and criminal justice agencies in San Diego County, it is necessary to obtain equipment that ensures a standardized and validated process.
FISCAL IMPACT
Funds for this request are included in the Fiscal Year 2024-25 Operational Plan for the Sheriff’s Department. If approved, this request will result in estimated one-time costs of $552,359 to GERSTEL and approximately $153,414 to Agilent Technologies. The funding sources are the 2023-25 CHP Toxicology Grant ($550,773) and Asset Forfeiture Fund ($155,000). There will be no change in net General Fund cost and no additional staff years.
BUSINESS IMPACT STATEMENT
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ADVISORY BOARD STATEMENT
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BACKGROUND
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department Regional Crime Laboratory (Crime Lab) provides forensic science services to over 30 law enforcement and criminal justice agencies. The Crime Lab provides specialized forensic analysis of evidence in several different disciplines, including toxicology with the majority of these samples coming from driving under the influence (DUI) arrests.
The Crime Lab is accredited by the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB), the largest multi-disciplinary accreditation body in the western hemisphere. ANAB designs industry-specific programs and provides accreditation and training for testing and forensic laboratories. To maintain this accreditation, the Crime Lab uses standardized, validated analytical methods. These methods require the use of specific equipment and supplies, including those provided by GERSTEL and Agilent Technologies. The Crime Lab adopted the use of these instruments and supplies after extensive research and validation, and cannot use any other provider’s products without changing the entirety of its analytical methods. If another manufacturer were to be introduced, the Crime Lab’s current analytical methods would need to change and be revalidated by ANAB. Revalidation can take up to twenty-four months from the time the piece of equipment is installed. Due to the meticulous process of toxicology analysis, supplies that perform to original equipment manufacturer specifications are required. Procuring these supplies will ensure standardization and compatibility with the toxicology analysis equipment already owned by the Crime Lab.
GERSTEL’s Maestro software control also integrates with Agilent Technologies’ Chemstation and MassHunter software. This allows control of the MultiPurpose Sampler (MPS) robotic, Agilent Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and Flame Ionization Detection with a single software program. GERSTEL is the only vendor that can configure this software system and therefore, a necessary vendor to complete the process. This will be the first ever GERSTEL system for the Crime Lab.
The Agilent GC-MS with Gerstel MPS will allow the Crime Lab’s Forensic Toxicology Section to advance their testing for volatile compounds to ensure accurate and specific chemical identification. These systems will also allow the Crime Lab to expand volatile testing to commonly used inhalant drugs as recommended by the National Safety Council, rather than send samples that need inhalant testing to a third-party laboratory at an additional cost. Purchasing Agilent GC instruments, the same manufacturer already in use for existing volatile testing, will allow the Forensic Toxicology Section to integrate the systems into the existing Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), utilize the same service contract, decrease validation timeframes, and improve training outcomes due to the staff's previous experience with the operating system.
The Agilent 8890 GC-MS will allow the Crime Lab’s Controlled Substances Section to continue to identify evidence items for narcotics and maintain the total amount of time it takes to run a process from start to finish. This updated system will increase case processing capacity by providing six analysts with two GC-MS systems rather than one.
If the Crime Lab were to switch to another manufacturer besides Agilent Technologies for either one of these products, it may add additional costs towards implementation and could lead to a complete overhaul of the Crime Lab’s systems, such as the upgraded Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), and bring about unforeseen costs to the Crime Lab. Introducing another manufacturer would change the Crime Lab’s existing analytical methods and could affect the Crime Lab’s ability to meet ANAB’s strict accreditation requirements.
Today’s actions request the Board of Supervisors to approve two single source procurements based on standardization of toxicology analysis technology from GERSTEL and controlled substances analysis technology from Agilent Technologies.
LINKAGE TO THE COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO STRATEGIC PLAN
Today’s proposed actions support the Community and Equity Strategic Initiatives of the County of San Diego’s 2024-2029 Strategic Plan by continuing the quality of toxicology analysis that is critical in the expedient identification and subsequent apprehension of criminals and providing justice and healing for victims and their families, resulting in a safer community.
Respectfully submitted,
KELLY A. MARTINEZ
Sheriff
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