License Plate Reader Security Camera

We are currently looking at a camera system also for our entrances and exits. We also do not have power etc. The one we are looking at is a solar system with a cell connection. It will run about $15,000 and cost $50-100 a month to maintain. We are discussing it in the early stages now to determine who will have access to the files (they overwrite every 90 days). A few residents are concerned about their privacy but other are more concerned that the cost of this FAR exceeds the value of what is being stolen. We (on average) only have about 2 weeks of vandalism a year and it's usually petty thefts from cars. Once electronics were stolen, but the police could track it down once it was turned on. We have to decide how much our peace of mind is worth.

I wouldn't leave the operation of this system to an individual homeowner - it's best to get a system that can be installed and monitored by a professional company, similar to the home security systems. This way it could be set up somewhere in the common area and you wouldn't have to worry about providing systems to other residents (which I wouldn't do anyway - they can buy their own). This type of system will be expensive, so you should shop around and talk to several companies about what they offer. It might also be helpful to talk to the police on how effective these systems are.

But before you go this route, 11 houses out of 185 is about 5% of the entire community, so it may be a matter of educating homeowners on how they can reduce the risk. Start with the 11 break-ins and note the trends - you already know they all occurred during early morning hours - how early? If it was wintertime and people were warming up their cars, they shouldn't leave the door unlocked - that's another way of saying "want a car -here you go!" Were the cars and/or garage unlocked? Has anyone noticed strange cars/people rolling through the community lately? What, if anything was stolen (leaving valuables in the car where they can be seen isn't a good idea, either). Were the targets makes/models that are especially attractive to thieves - check out this link to see what the top stolen cars were last year - https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimgorzelany/2016/08/01/the-new-and-used-cars-thieves-love/#2db5d87a2fb9

Inform homeowners of your findings and publish reminders on how they can protect themselves and then pay close attention to what happens over the next few months. Good luck!

Sound advice.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

I also apologize for the posting of a specific name Tim, but I read the rules after the first post. I also noted that the HOA website sticky also features names of communities? But I will follow the rules.

To clarify the concern of the neighborhood here, most are concerned with criminals sneaking around at night. This affects the entire community. We do have a Neighborhood Watch with about 35% participation and do share camera images from all of the 11 homes that have surveillance. The police have obtained some of the video, which does help in the investigation. So far, no cars have been stolen, only items removed from cars and open garages or yards.

I plan to heed the consensus advice regarding placing HOA equipment in a non-Board members possession.

We do not have a Meter for electric power near the entrance. Installation of a Meter and an electric feed will be something to look into. This may be the best option. We can then locate the ALPR camera on common ground at the entrance and also subscribe to an internet service. We don't need to locate a DVR at the camera site, but can network to a DVR at a Board member's home (2 available). This should then get around the issues.

You said " We don't need to locate a DVR at the camera site, but can network to a DVR at a Board member's home (2 available). This should then get around the issues."

No, No, No - you don't need to have anything like this at a Board member's home - whether it's a board member or non-board member, keeping this type of feed at an individual homeowner's house is a problem. If you must get a system, let a professional monitoring service handle the feed.

By the way, if people are concerned about criminals, but there's only 35% of residents participating, those people will need to rethink this. At the very least, homeowners should be encouraged to say something if they see anything suspicious by calling the non-emergency number of the police department (for actual break-ins and other misbehaving, call 911 as usual). And tell them to close the garage door and lock the cars! It doesn't take long for a thief to take advantage of settings like that.

GaryT4 Missouri: 1- Maybe it really could help the police identify recurrent opportunistic cruising to steal if the data could pull out coincidence of thefts & particular licence plates leaving your & other communities. I notice Missouri online reverse licence plate sites for your monitors to check.

And if the police had the time and interest to apply it. IF . . .

2 - But a major weakness may be that the same folks prone to leaving vehicles unlocked / articles of some value in view / maybe garage doors wide open, those may also be slow to notice a theft in the first place.

They next may be slow or simply ignore reporting it.

3 - Without the prompt collection of their theft particulars, simply recording recurrent plates in the early hours may have very limited short term value. Few criminals' plates conveniently display "I'm here to steal !"

4 - One might be tempted - instead of all that work - to simply post a big warning sign like "Dissenters & American Civil Liberties Association be damned, we may be recording outbound licence plates ! ".

But detrimental reliance on phony deterrence may unfortunately tend to disincentive some folks already too casual about security.

I would recommend that you use a street light with pole to mount your security camera. Many wifi systems can be pole mounted
and use the electric that supplies power to the street lamp. said cameras can be remotely accessed to capture a video event.

Here's my two cents worth, I spent over 30 years in federal law enforcement. Admittedly we didn't get involved in local crime, but I do have experience working with local law enforcement.

Surveillance systems are fine for certain applications as are license plate readers. But they have to be monitored in real time to be of any real use in solving property crime and that is a very expensive proposition. The primary use for a license plate reader is to have the ability to run the plate immediately through the other systems such as intel data bases, NCIC, or local law enforcement data bases listing stolen or wanted vehicles.

The problem with just about all surveillance systems including readers used in an HOA application is that they are storage devices. They store the information which can be retrieved manually via on site or perhaps through a cellular downlink. If an event happens in the subdivision, theft of wheels or a vehicle break in for instance, those things generally happened in the wee hours and are not discovered until the morning. If the surveillance system is located at an entrance to the subdivision, all it will capture is the comings and goings of vehicles. In the for instance case - you have a break in and a window of time so someone is going to have to review the stored images and or video.

Even then, unless there is a pretty clear indication that the vehicle captured in the surveillance system was involved in the criminal activity you really don't have too much. And to be perfectly honest the local law enforcement department really doesn't have the personnel or time to investigate. Their sole response will be to give the injured party a police report that they can use to file an insurance claim. If the act was caught on a homeowners security system that is of course a different matter.

These systems are expensive - in the region of $20k to cover various entrances. The HOA needs to ask itself is this an expense that should be incurred based on the crime rate in the subdivision. It is assumed that everyone in the subdivision carries insurance and that some may have their own security systems. Far less expensive remedies are available - motion activated lighting covering the driveway and vehicles can be purchased for under $100. Wireless video surveillance systems for less than $400.

I wouldn't recommend such a system for your HOA's perceived problem.

Be sure that the cameras do not make audio recordings.