DATE: May 20, 2025
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Chief of Police
SUBJECT: Adopt a Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to: (1) Accept and Appropriate $162,360 in Awarded FEMA State Homeland Security Program Grant Funding from the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office; and (2) Execute Agreement(s) With Flock Safety for the Purchase of Additional Automated License Plate Reader Cameras for up to ten (10) Years With Total Expenditures Not to Exceed $4,000,000 Over the Ten-Year Period.
RECOMMENDATION
That Council adopts a resolution (Attachment II) authorizing the City Manager to accept and appropriate $162,360 in awarded FEMA State Homeland Security Program grant funding from the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office.
It is also recommended that Council adopts another resolution (Attachment III) to execute an agreement(s) with Flock Safety for the purchase of additional Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) cameras for up to a ten-year-period in a total amount not to exceed $4,000,000.
Any future request to expand the ALPR program beyond the current scope will require Council approval. This resolution will replace and supersede Resolution #24-049 to ensure program continuity.
SUMMARY
The State Homeland Security Program (SHSP), funded by FEMA, supports emergency preparedness at the state and local levels. In California, Cal OES distributes SHSP funds to counties. From its SHSP award, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office allocated $162,360 to the Hayward Police Department to expand its Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) program.
The expansion aims to enhance terrorism response, improve real-time alerts for flagged vehicles, and boost overall crime prevention. Hayward PD has already seen success with its existing ALPR network, supporting dozens of arrests and recoveries, and aiding in a homicide suspect's apprehension. Nationally, ALPR systems have been linked to significant crime reductions.
The Hayward Police Department currently maintains a contract with Flock Safety to operate and support a network of 64 Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) cameras.
This agreement, effective from December 2024 through December 2026, has a total value of $271,660.27. Prior to this, the Department entered into several agreements with Flock Safety beginning in 2022, which were subsequently consolidated into the current contract.
These earlier agreements, now expired, totaled $349,028.63 in cumulative expenditures.
Starting in Fiscal Year 2026, the projected annual cost to maintain and operate the existing 64-camera network will be approximately $202,000. The proposed system expansion, which will add approximately 30 additional cameras funded by the SHSP grant, is expected to incur an annual cost of up to $162,360. In addition to equipment and service fees, the Department incurs a $300 per camera annual cost to retain ALPR data for investigatory and evidentiary purposes for one year. With a combined network of 94 cameras, the total cost of data retention will be $28,200 per year.
Taking all elements into account—the base contract for existing cameras, the cost of the proposed expansion, and the data retention fees—the estimated total annual expenditure is approximately $392,560. To ensure operational flexibility and account for potential repairs, camera replacements, or unforeseen service needs, HPD would likely be using a maximum of $400,000 per year, for a total not-to-exceed amount of $4,000,000 for up to a 10 year time period.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
The State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) is a FEMA-funded grant program designed to support state and local efforts in preparing for disasters, terrorist threats, and large-scale emergencies. In California, these funds are allocated by Cal OES to counties, which then distribute resources to strengthen local emergency preparedness.
From its SHSP award, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office has allocated $162,360 to the Hayward Police Department. These funds will be used to expand the Department’s Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) program by adding approximately 30 new cameras to its existing Flock Safety camera network. These cameras will be strategically placed at key ingress and egress points across the city, particularly along major regional transportation routes, including I-880, I-580, I-238, and SR 92. The deployment of these cameras will enhance the City’s terrorism response capabilities and provide real-time alerts for vehicles flagged in the National Crime Information Center (NCIC).
During the May 6, 2025 City Council meeting, a concern was raised about the potential use of Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) cameras for immigration enforcement. While Flock Safety’s integration with the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) enables real-time alerts, immigration-related alerts are disabled for all customers in California—including the City of Hayward—in accordance with state law. Additionally, no demographic data is collected using ALPR cameras and none of the data collected is shared with federal immigration agencies.
The Hayward Police Department has established clear policies to ensure ALPR technology is not used for immigration enforcement. Policy 429: Automated License Plate Readers governs the use of ALPR systems and restricts their application to legitimate law enforcement purposes, such as identifying stolen vehicles or locating suspects in criminal investigations.
Access to ALPR data is limited to authorized personnel, and all usage is logged and subject to audit to ensure compliance.
Furthermore, HPD Policy 415: Immigration Violations explicitly prohibits officers from inquiring into an individual's immigration status for the purpose of immigration enforcement.
The policy bars detaining individuals solely based on civil immigration violations or related civil warrants. HPD does not honor immigration detainers from federal agencies unless accompanied by a judicial warrant or a probable cause determination. Despite conversations at the federal level, the HPD’s policies related to immigration violations have not changed.
The City of Hayward has also publicly reaffirmed that its employees, including members of the Police Department, do not engage in the enforcement of federal immigration laws. This reflects the City’s commitment to providing equal protection and service to all community members, regardless of immigration status.
Hayward PD started its ALPR program in mid-2022 and built out the network in four phases:
20 cameras in mid-2022, nine in late 2022, 22 in mid-2024, and 13 in early 2025. The planned expansion aims to address identified gaps or “holes” in the current ALPR network. These gaps occur when individuals in stolen vehicles enter or leave Hayward without being captured by the existing cameras. Filling these gaps will significantly aid investigations of stolen vehicles, crimes against persons, terrorism-related activities, and other law enforcement efforts. This expansion will improve regional security and coordination, as Hayward PD collaborates with multiple other agencies.
In 2023 when the first 29 ALPR cameras were brand new to Hayward PD, the City of Hayward experienced 2,454 motor vehicle thefts. The following year (2024), motor vehicle thefts dropped to 2,183 (an 11.05% reduction from the year before.) After installing 35 additional ALPR cameras by early 2025, year to date as of May 7th 2025, the City of Hayward has experienced a 48.27% reduction in motor vehicle thefts in comparison to 2024 (433 in 2025, versus 837 in 2024.)
Table 1: Vehicle Theft Trends (2021–2025 YTD)
Year Reported Thefts % Change from Prior Year
2021 1,620 –
2022 1,709 ↑5.5%
2023 2,454 ↑43.6%
2024 2,183 ↓11.0%
2025 (YTD as of May 7) 433 ↓48.3% vs. May 7, 2024 YTD
Context: The sharp increase in vehicle thefts beginning in 2023 may be attributed to two key factors:
Widespread security vulnerabilities in certain Kia and Hyundai models, which made them easy targets for theft using simple tools and methods widely circulated via social media.
A shift in prosecutorial practices resulted in certain auto theft offenses being handled through citations rather than custodial arrests or formal charging. This change may have reduced the perceived consequences for offenders, potentially impacting deterrence and contributing to the increase in vehicle thefts.
In 2021 and 2022, Hayward PD recovered 806 and 801 stolen vehicles respectively. In 2023 when the ALPR program was new and had 29 cameras, recoveries rose to 1,143. In 2024, while thefts dropped by 271 incidents (a decrease of 11.05%), Hayward PD still recovered 1,080 stolen vehicles, only 63 less than the year before.
Table 2: Stolen Vehicle Recoveries (2021–2024)
Year Vehicles Recovered % Change from 2021
2021 806 –
2022 801 ↓0.6%
2023 1,143 ↑41.8%
2024 1,080 ↑34.0%
Prior to implementing ALPR cameras in Hayward, there were 105 vehicle theft arrests in 2021. After installing ALPR cameras in 2022, arrests increased to 119 and peaked at 120 in 2023, demonstrating the initial impact of enhanced investigative capabilities. In 2024, arrests declined slightly to 110. This reduction may be due in part to a modest decrease in vehicle thefts that year, as seen in Table 1.
Table 3: Stolen Vehicle Arrests (2021–2024)
Year Arrests % Change from 2021
2021 105 –
2022 119 ↑13.3%
2023 120 ↑14.3%
2024 110 ↑4.8%
Between January and March 2025, Hayward PD responded to 961 incidents involving vehicle theft or attempted theft—an average of over 11 incidents per day. From February 2023 to February 2024, the City’s existing ALPR network directly contributed to the safe apprehension of a homicide suspect in May 2023. This incident occurred on May 11, 2023, and involved the shooting death of a pregnant female and the near fatal shooting of the father of her unborn child. During the initial response to this shooting, HPD Officers were able to identify a vehicle associated with the responsible subject and, within minutes, they learned the vehicle was captured by an HPD Flock Safety ALPR camera as it traveled westbound over the San Mateo bridge. This critical piece of information led directly to the discovery of the responsible subject’s address, the recovery of critical evidence (including the vehicle), and ultimately the safe apprehension of the responsible subject within days of this shooting incident.
Nationally, cities have reported up to a 70% reduction in crime in areas with ALPR networks.
Flock Safety’s ALPR systems provide 24/7 monitoring, high-resolution imagery, and advanced search capabilities to support law enforcement investigations. While some Flock products also feature sound capture capabilities—triggered by sounds such as gunfire, tire screeching, and fireworks—this technology will not be included in Hayward’s current or planned ALPR network expansion. The identified ALPRs have a license plate capture accuracy rate of 97% and contribute to identifying over one billion vehicles involved in crimes nationwide each month.
The planned camera expansion will enhance Hayward’s regional security, investigative capacity, and law enforcement coordination. The Department currently shares ALPR data with 10 Alameda County agencies and more than 26 agencies in the greater Bay Area, fostering inter-agency collaboration that strengthens public safety throughout the region.
Since mid-2022, Hayward PD has expanded its ALPR network in four phases: 20 cameras in mid-2022, nine in late 2022, 22 in mid-2024, and 13 in early 2025. Total compensation to Flock Safety for these cameras through December 2024 was $349,028.63. In December 2024, the Department consolidated all prior agreements into a single co-termed contract valued at $271,660.27. Beginning in Fiscal Year 2026, the projected annual cost to operate and maintain the existing 64-camera network will be approximately $202,000.
With the newly awarded SHSP funds, the Department plans to install approximately 30 additional cameras. The grant will cover the first year of the two-year agreement, with the second year funded by the City’s General Fund. In addition, to support evidentiary and investigatory use of ALPR data, the Department plans to retain camera footage for one year at a cost of $300 per camera. For a combined total of 94 cameras, annual data retention expenses will be $28,200. Altogether, the annual cost to maintain the current network, operate the expanded camera system, and retain captured data is estimated at $392,560. To provide operational flexibility for unforeseen repairs, replacements, or other service needs, staff recommends rounding the maximum authorized annual expenditure to $400,000.
Staff is requesting Council authorization to continue contracting with the vendor for up to ten years. This long-term authority ensures program continuity and facilitates proactive budgeting and planning. Over the full ten-year term, total expenditures under all agreements with Flock Safety shall not exceed $4,000,000. This resolutions will replace and supersede Resolution No. 24-049 to reflect updated funding authorizations. Any future request to expand the ALPR network beyond the current scope will be brought back to Council for approval.
FISCAL IMPACT
The purchase planned using the SHSP grant will not immediately impact the General Fund, as the awarded funds will cover the first year of the new ALPR camera agreement. However, there will be ongoing General Fund obligations for future years. The Police Department has established a new Capital Improvement Project in Fund 405 to track the ALPR program’s expansion and fiscal impacts beginning in FY 2026. The proposed expansion would create an
additional annual funding requirement of up to $162,360, totaling up to $400,000 per year for all agreements with Flock Safety. Over a ten-year period, the total cost of all agreements with Flock Safety will not exceed $4,000,000.
STRATEGIC ROADMAP
While this agenda item does not directly support one of its 27 enumerated projects, the SHSP Grant and expansion of the City’s ALPR program would further the Strategic Priority of Enhancing Community Safety and Quality of Life by increasing crime solvability rates and aiding officers in combatting in-progress crimes.
NEXT STEPS
If the Council authorizes this action, staff will execute a subrecipient agreement with Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, appropriate the funding into the Police Department’s budget, execute an agreement with Flock Safety for additional ALPR cameras, and administer the grant per the terms and conditions of the agreement.
Prepared by: Laura Gomez, Senior Management Analyst
Recommended by: Bryan Matthews, Chief of Police
Approved by:
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Dr. Ana M. Alvarez, City Manager