Deltek pulse: Justice/public safety and homeland security September review

The most common terms appearing in justice/public safety and homeland security solicitations during September were fire alarm, camera/surveillance and radio. The below word cloud provides a visual interpretation of key-term frequency.

• Number of public safety bids: 1,130
• Top three states (by number of solicitations released): California (136), Texas (63), New York (61)
• Keywords: fire alarm, camera/surveillance and radio

Frequency of terms:

• Surveillance: 22 (six state; 16 local)
• Radio: 14 (three state; 11 local)

Trends       

• Entities have begun to focus on more all-encompassing projects in the JPS sphere, such as projects for public safety software systems including computer-aided dispatch (CAD), records management systems (RMS), jail management systems, and other technologies in a single suite
• September saw a trend of canceled opportunities, many of which entities decided could be completed in house without the need to hire a vendor or go out to bid
• Several solicitations were released for CAD/RMS projects in larger cities

Notable projects

• The Washington Department of Enterprise Services released a request for information on behalf of the Western States Contracting Alliance (WSCA) for public safety communications equipment. The below map indicates the states that participate in the current contract

• Vermont’s Department of Building and General Services released an RFP for a statewide automatic vehicle location system to be used by the Vermont Department of Public Safety
• The Nevada Department of Administration awarded the fire protection services project it was handling on behalf of WSCA. The contract was awarded to five vendors and will run for four years with a two-year renewal option

Analyst’s Take

While September fell in line with August with regard to the number of solicitations released, many entities seem poised to release solicitations throughout the fall season. Solicitations placed on hold are beginning to move forward with release dates scheduled in the coming months. This does not necessarily mean these solicitations will actually be released in autumn; however, it shows that many localities are making an effort to push projects through before year’s end. While these efforts are often delayed due to the length of time it can take to finalize a solicitation and get it approved, it is a good sign for vendors that many projects now have tentative timelines.