Agenda #: 1
Meeting Date: July 18, 2023
CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
VIA: Daniel Fox, City Manager
FROM: Ryan McLean, Assistant City Manager
TITLE: AUTOMATED LICENSE PLATE READER (ALPR) SURVEILLANCE
CAMERAS
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Flock systems are priced using a per camera subscription model. Each camera is priced at $3,000 annually for 30-day data retention or $3,300 annually for 1-year data retention (the City Attorney has advised that 1-year retention is required per state law). One-time per-camera installation costs of $150 for deployment on existing infrastructure (light poles or traffic signals) or $650 for cameras that require a new, standalone pole are applied at the time of installation. A $1,000 fee is charged for vandalism repair or replacement of damaged equipment. While there would be no new law enforcement personnel cost necessary to deploy the system, the City may see an increase in aero bureau costs resulting from stolen vehicle pursuits generated with leads from the system (LASD policy requires aero support for any vehicle pursuit).
A site analysis conducted by staff in consultation with Flock estimates that 50 cameras would provide adequate coverage of ingress and egress routes. This deployment strategy would cost a minimum of $172,500 in the first year.
BACKGROUND:
At the February 28, 2023 meeting, the City Council Public Safety Committee requested that staff prepare a presentation related to the use of Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) surveillance systems in Diamond Bar. The matter was subsequently presented to the committee at the March 28, 2023 meeting, at which time staff was directed to prepare the item for City Council discussion. At the April 18, 2023 Study Session, the City Council discussed the matter and directed staff to return with additional information for further discussion and direction.
ALPRs are camera-based surveillance devices that capture vehicle license plate data.
This data can be used by law enforcement in a number of ways, including to monitor where a vehicle has been, identify travel patterns over time, and determine links between different vehicles. The city currently funds two Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) vehicles equipped with mobile ALPR technology and has access to fixed ALPR trailers that can be staged throughout town as needed.
The rise of cloud computing has reduced the cost to deploy centralized community-wide surveillance systems monitored by law enforcement agencies. New machine learning technology has expanded the scope of data collection. The latest-generation ALPR camera systems can supplement license plate data with automated collection of vehicle identifiers like make, model, color, and features like roof racks and bumper stickers and can also track pedestrians, animals, and other objects in view of the camera.
Flock Safety has emerged as the industry-leader in ALPR surveillance systems, with a growing number of local government agencies, including many cities in Southern California, deploying Flock systems. Flock systems rely on fixed-mounted cameras placed approximately 15 feet above traffic lanes on existing traffic signal and/or light poles. The cameras are powered with solar-charged batteries and use LTE cell networks to communicate with servers maintained by the provider.
Data collected is fed through a state stolen vehicle and felony warrant database. Local patrol deputies can receive real-time push notifications via mobile application when a vehicle on the database is flagged by a local ALPR camera. Deputies and authorized users can also create a “hot list” of specific vehicles of interest that may not be in the database and receive real-time notifications for those vehicles as well.
Data is maintained on cloud servers hosted by Amazon Web Services (AWS). Footage can also be downloaded and stored locally for an indefinite period. This data is searchable and can accommodate specific queries - “blue Toyota Camrys with a roof rack”, for example. Access to local systems and archived data can be shared with other law enforcement agencies with an opt-in. Flock systems do not currently collect video, use facial recognition, or intentionally capture images of a vehicle’s driver. All data collected would be the property of the City and subject to public records law.
The City would be responsible for developing and enforcing policies that govern the use of the system to ensure conformance with state law and prevent the data from being used inappropriately.
ANALYSIS:
Flock Safety surveillance systems serve as an additional investigatory tool for law enforcement agencies. Hits are generated almost exclusively on pass-through stolen vehicles originating from other areas and vehicles registered to drivers with outstanding warrants. Deputies in the field are able to respond quickly, generating arrests that may not otherwise have been made. The cameras also supplement other investigations when combined with evidence or witnesses collected at the scene of the incident. In at least one case, LASD has used Flock cameras deployed in adjacent communities to solve a stolen vehicle case originating in Diamond Bar.
The City of Walnut was an early adopter with Flock, deploying approximately 30 cameras in 2020. Since then, the system has led to the recovery of 64 stolen vehicles and the arrest of 56 individuals. At the Council’s request and to further measure the impact of the systems, staff examined 2022 data from two other Southern California LASD contract cities with Flock systems, including La Canada Flintridge and San Dimas. All data contained in this report is generated by LASD, with the caveat that there is no uniform system across stations to collect and track Flock-related arrests and leads.
City Leads/Hits Vehicles Recovered Arrests
La Canada Flintridge 20 13 1
San Dimas 9 N/A N/A
To provide further context, Attachments 1 and 2 provide summaries for total part 1 crime and total clearance rates for all three sample cities. In general, the data shows that the deployment of surveillance systems does not insulate cities from regional crime trends (all three experienced increases in total burglaries from 2021 to 2022). That said, all three sample cities with Flock systems had higher overall clearance rates than Diamond Bar.
When deliberating this issue, the Council may also wish to consider other implications, including:
• Responsibility for compliance with the Public Records Act. • Determining which individuals and agencies have access to the data. • Policy decisions about camera placement (arterials vs. residential streets and at public facilities).
• Policy decisions about near future technologies/features, including facial recognition and live video collection (Flock recently launched “Condor Live and Recorded Video).
• General privacy concerns.
Attachments:
1. 1.a Attachment 1 - Crime Stats Summary
2. 1.b Attachment 2 - Clearance Rates Summary