1-SF26003 Sole Source Notice.pdf
PDF 210 KB Posted
- Attached to
- SLCo SF26003 Covert Tracking Devices and Service
- Solicitation number
- SLCo SF26003-RFI
- Issued by
- Salt Lake County, Salt Lake City, Utah
About this file
This is a Notice of Proposed Sole Source Procurement Request for Information (RFI) issued by Salt Lake County, Utah for covert tracking devices and related services. The Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office Investigations Division seeks to procure additional covert tracking equipment and annual subscription services to support complex, long-term investigations conducted by the Metro Gang Unit. The county currently owns thirteen 3si Stealth 5 trackers, three 3si Microtracker 5 trackers, and three dedicated AT&T cell phones with pre-installed 3si covert phone applications, representing approximately $15,000 in existing equipment. The procurement requires annual subscriptions providing access to data storage websites and ongoing service support. Comments on the proposed sole source designation must be submitted to Michael Emery, JR. at memery@saltlakecounty.gov by January 31, 2026, before 1:00 PM Mountain Standard Time. The notice start date is January 23, 2026.
The estimated cost for this procurement is $90,000.00. Salt Lake County proposes 3si (formerly known as CovertTrack), through CDW Government LLC as the sole source vendor. The justification for sole source procurement centers on standardization and compatibility, as the existing equipment is already deployed and familiar to investigators, making subscription continuation more cost-effective than replacing devices or retraining staff. The 3si system is utilized by the majority of law enforcement agencies throughout the Salt Lake Valley at state and federal levels, enabling interagency collaboration across the Metro Gang Unit comprising more than ten different law enforcement agencies. Transitional costs and operational disruption from switching to alternative vendors are considered unreasonable and cost-prohibitive, particularly given the essential features of 3si trackers including on-board GPS data storage, tamper alerts, and radio frequency ping capabilities critical for operations in areas with limited GPS signal coverage. All documents submitted in response to this RFI are protected records under the Utah Governmental Records and Access Management Act and will become public upon contract execution or two years from the RFI issuance date.
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Text version
NOTICE OF PROPOSED SOLE SOURCE PROCUREMENT
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)
SALT LAKE COUNTY
Notice #: SF26003
Title: Covert Tracking Devices and Service
The Division of Contracts and Procurement has received a request to purchase from a “sole source” vendor. If, for any reason, any party does not agree that this sole source purchase is applicable, please email the contact person for Salt Lake County Contracts and Procurement Division prior to the “Comments Due Date:” indicated below:
SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION
Sole source procurement is appropriate when goods or services are only available from a single vendor; when the most important consideration is the standardization or compatibility of equipment, materials, technology, software accessories, replacement parts, or service; where transitional costs are unreasonable or cost prohibitive; or if it otherwise qualifies under County Ordinance 3.20.030.
Due to the previous split between the Unified Police Department and the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office, the Investigations Division of the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office inherited several devices and services from 3si, formerly known as CovertTrack.
The Investigations Division purchased several additional trackers since the split, and currently owns thirteen 3si Stealth 5 trackers and three 3si Microtracker 5's. The Office purchased 3 cell phones through AT&T that are dedicated to the use of 3si covert phone application already installed on the devices. The tracking equipment owned by the Sheriff's Office is approximately $15,000 in equipment. The Investigations Division intends to purchase additional equipment this fiscal year to support complex, long-term investigations for which the Metro Gang Unit is responsible.
This equipment requires annual subscriptions, including access to the necessary website for data storage. The devices are currently deployed and are familiar to users, making it cost-effective to maintain the subscription without the need for device replacements or retraining. Additionally, no other vendors appear to offer the specific capabilities required for these operations.
These trackers have several essential features such as on-board storage of GPS data, tamper alert, and radio frequency for pings. These features are essential for the needs of the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office, as suspects often drive in areas outside of GPS signals. Thus, the historical location of the tracker can later be discovered if a signal is lost. Suspects are frequently checking their vehicles and finding trackers. The tamper alert will notify if the tracker is removed. This enables law enforcement to quickly respond to recover the tracker and prevent expensive equipment from being destroyed.
Law enforcement can also more accurately locate the trackers by using the radio frequency pings instead of relying on a general GPS map online. This prevents expensive trackers from being lost and/or destroyed.
In addition, 3si is a system used by the vast majority of law enforcement agencies in the http://library.municode.com/HTML/16602/level2/TIT3REFI_CH3.20PUPR.html#TIT3REFI_CH3.20PUPR_3.20.030PRNORECOPR
Salt Lake Valley - both at the state and federal level. By using 3si as a sole source, our investigative units can share the use of the device across the entire Metro Gang Unit (which consists of more than 10 different law enforcement agencies). Familiarization with the devices saves time that investigators would otherwise have to spend on learning and teaching others the new system. Replacing these devices with a different vendor would incur significant costs and disrupt ongoing investigations. It would also cause investigators to lose many hours of training and experience related to 3si's equipment and services.
In conclusion, maintaining Salt Lake County’s current relationship with 3si and recognizing them as a sole source vendor is essential for the seamless transition of services and subscriptions investigation units are already using. The familiarity of users with the equipment and software, the cost-effectiveness of continuing subscriptions, and the potential disruption to ongoing investigations justify the decision to use 3si as a sole vendor.
Proposed Standardization Provider: CDW Government LLC
Notice Start Date: January 23, 2026
Comments Due Date/Time: January 31, 2026, before 1:00pm Mountain Standard Time
Estimated Costs: $90,000.00
Contact Person: Michael Emery, JR., MBA, MS email address: memery@saltlakecounty.gov
Materials Provided to Salt Lake County The County is a governmental entity subject to the Utah Governmental Records and Access Management Act (GRAMA), Utah Code Section 63G-2-101 et seq. All documents submitted in response to this RFI will be treated as protected records under GRAMA Section 63G-2-305(7). Please be advised that documents submitted in response to this RFI will become public records upon execution of a contract directly relating to the subject of this request or in the event the County does not enter into a contract which directly relates to the subject matter upon the expiration of two years from the date of issue of this RFI. Trade secrets and commercial information will not be disclosed provided that you have properly compiled with Utah Code Section 63G-2-305 and Utah Code Section 63G-2-309.
DO NOT RESPOND THROUGH UTAH PUBLIC PROCUREMENT PLACE
SEND COMMENTS DIRECTLY TO CONTACT PERSON!
mailto:memery@saltlakecounty.gov
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