Public Services Safety Study RFP CP-27-03

The City of College Park, Maryland, requests sealed proposals for a Public Safety Services Study.

This study seeks to assess public safety services options available in the City's corporate boundaries. The study should identify costs, staffing models, operational requirements, benefits, challenges, implementation timelines, and opportunities associated with potential policing service models for College Park residents, businesses, students, and visitors.

The study will provide an informed basis for City Council and staff to evaluate whether the City should continue, modify, expand, or replace current policing arrangements, including the existing Memorandum of Understanding with Prince George’s County and agreements with other law enforcement partners.

The selected consultant shall evaluate public safety and policing service options for the City, including but not limited to:

• Reviewing current policing arrangements, service levels, cost structure, staffing model, agreements, and operational responsibilities.
• Analyzing crime statistics, calls for service, response times, geographic coverage, demographics, growth patterns, housing trends, student population impacts, commercial activity, transit activity, special events, and other publicly available or City-provided data.
• Evaluating current and future service demands related to University activity, special events, Metro service, Purple Line service, parks, commercial areas, and residential neighborhoods.
• Assessing the benefits, challenges, risks, and costs of maintaining the current model, modifying the current model, contracting with other agencies, creating a municipal police department, or pursuing hybrid/shared-service models.
• Estimating startup, transition, and recurring operating costs, including staffing, recruitment, training, supervision, facilities, fleet, equipment, uniforms, insurance, dispatch, records management, technology, information technology, human resources, legal support, accreditation & training requirements with needed administrative oversight.
• Evaluating the impacts of Maryland policing mandates, including body-worn camera and dash camera requirements, records retention, evidence management, data storage, public information requests, and compliance obligations.
• Analyzing the City’s current tax rate, potential tax differential implications, and the fiscal relationship between current policing expenditures and projected alternatives.
• Assessing hiring and recruitment challenges in the Washington and Baltimore regional police labor markets.
• Developing an implementation timeline for each feasible option, from City Council direction through policy development, accreditation planning, recruitment, hiring, training, facilities readiness, equipment procurement, and operational launch.

Required deliverables

• Provide a data request list and methodology information that includes a summary of current policing and public safety services.
• Prepare a stakeholder engagement summary, including City staff, elected officials, residents, businesses, students, University representatives, and partner agencies as appropriate.
• Prepare comparative analysis of similar Maryland and regional municipal policing models.
• Develop cost summary that includes staffing, facilities, fleet, technology, records, human resources, and implementation estimates for each option.
• Provide brief assessment of legal, operational, administrative, compliance, accreditation, and risk management requirements.
• Draft report for City and Council review at midpoint.
• Conduct public presentation of findings, if requested by the City.
• Submit a Final report with options, findings, assumptions, cost ranges, implementation timelines, and decision points.
• Ideally, the City would like to conclude this project by late Summer 2027.

Proposals must be submitted in original only, on the specified forms, in a sealed envelope addressed to Procurement-Finance Department, City of College Park, Maryland, marked “RFP CP-27-03, Public Safety Services Study, City of College Park, Maryland” and delivered to the Finance Department, City of College Park, 7401 Baltimore Avenue, College Park, Maryland 20740.

All proposals remain binding for ninety (90) days after submittal of the RFP.

The work to be performed under the contract (“Services”) shall commence within ten days of Notice to Proceed. The contract term will be set forth in the Contract.

Proposals will be graded upon the categories of the attached evaluation criteria. The review will consider the experience of the individual, firm, or team; the experience of the individuals proposed to work on the project; work on similar projects; project references; and fee structure. Prior to awarding the contract, the City may conduct interviews with selected proposers.

The Proposer to whom the Contract has been awarded must execute a Contract in substantially the form attached within ten business days after the award and submit such other Documents as required by the Contract Documents including bonds, and insurance certificates.

**Insurance:** Comprehensive General Liability Insurance with a limit of **$2,000,000** each occurrence/aggregate; Automobile Liability Coverage with a combined limit of **$1,000,000**; Professional Errors and Omissions Insurance with limits of not less than **$1,000,000**; Workers’ Compensation Insurance with Employers’ Liability limits of **$500,000**.