October 20, 2026
Police Department
DATE: October 20, 2026
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM: Timothy Simmons, Chief of Police
Subject: Contract Amendment No. 1 with Police Strategies, LLC to Provide an Objective Analysis of Automated License
Plate Readers
FINANCIAL IMPACT: The proposed $20,000 expenditure is not currently funded. The appropriation will be added to the Police
Department’s General Fund budget for Fiscal Year 2026–
27 and will require a corresponding reduction or budget adjustment as part of the mid-year financial report
(Account String: 01191021-400201).
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
September 22, 2026
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
The City Council directed staff to return with a scope of work and fiscal impact for an objective statistical analysis of Richmond data regarding the effectiveness of
Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) in reducing
crime, recovering stolen vehicles, supporting criminal
investigations, and making arrests that lead to conviction, as well as information regarding data retention and
information sharing. Police Department staff do not have the capacity to conduct this analysis, but Police
Strategies, LLC is familiar with the Department’s data
and can provide the requested report.
AGENDA
REPORT
October 20, 2026
RECOMMENDED ACTION: APPROPRIATE $20,000 to the Police Department’s General Fund budget and APPROVE a contract
amendment with Police Strategies LLC to expand the
scope of work to provide objective statistical analysis of Richmond data regarding the effectiveness of Automated
License Plate Readers in reducing crime, recovering
stolen vehicles, supporting criminal investigations, and making arrests that lead to conviction, as well as
information regarding data retention and information
sharing for license plate reader systems under
consideration, and increase the contract not-to-exceed
amount by $20,000 – Police Department (Chief Timothy
Simmons 510-620-1802). This item was continued
from the October 6, 2026, meeting.
DISCUSSION:
Councilmembers Jimenez, Wilson, and Vice Mayor Robinson asked for a methodological report that links Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR)-related arrests to prosecutorial outcomes, incorporates both Richmond Police Department (RPD) and Contra Costa County District Attorney (DA) datasets, and provides findings appropriate for use in future City Council policy deliberations. Their request did not identify a vendor and Police Department staff do not have the time or resources to gather and review such information. However, Police Strategies LLC is adequately prepared and familiar with the Police Department’s data and can provide the requested report for review. Police Strategies LLC was recently awarded a contract for use-offorce analyses, and the analyses of ALPR data could be provided seamlessly with the current work.
Police Strategies will provide an objective statistical analysis of Richmond Police Department data regarding the effectiveness of License Plate Readers (LPRs) in:
Reducing crime, including categories where Richmond uses ALPR data for investigations such as homicide, assaults, missing persons, and property crimes Recovering stolen vehicles and measuring ALPR-attributed recoveries Supporting criminal investigations, assessing the degree to which LPR alerts, hits, or historical plate data contribute to case solvability and investigative leads Making arrests that lead to conviction, including linkage of RPD arrest records with Contra Costa County District Attorney conviction information, consistent with existing DA agreements documented in internal contract listings Police Strategies will produce a methodological report that links ALPR-related arrests to prosecutorial outcomes, incorporates both RPD and DA datasets, and provides findings appropriate for use in future City Council policy deliberations.
October 20, 2026
Police Strategies estimates that such report should be completed within 1-2 weeks and will not exceed $20,000.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Original Contract
Attachment 2 – Contract Amendment