Flock Safety cameras, which are solar and cellular powered license plate reader (LPR) cameras, record license plate numbers, vehicle characteristics (like make, model, and color), and other identifying features, which, when installed at entrances to neighborhoods, provides a way to track and catch crime that may happen in the neighborhood. Flock Safety has an existing partnership with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) to allow LAPD to utilize the cameras in their criminal investigations and to automatically send LAPD alerts when cameras capture license plates of stolen cars.

Outpost Neighborhood Association (ONA) is launching a fundraising campaign to help install five license plate reader security cameras at the five entrances to Outpost Estates to capture vehicles coming into the neighborhood and help catch and deter crime.

The five entrances to the neighborhood are:

Outpost Dr/Franklin Ave
Hillside Ave/El Cerrito Pl
La Presa Dr/Yaeger Pl
Outpost Dr/Mulholland Dr
Macapa Dr/Mulholland Dr

The total cost is about $15,000 to install and lease the cameras/software for one year. It is about $12,500 each year after that. ONA is a non-profit 501c3 organization so donations may be tax deductible since this initiative is in line with the ONA mission to promotes the public safety, community beautification, and public enjoyment of the Outpost Estates neighborhood including canyons adjacent to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, to lessen the burdens of government, to educate the public with respect to region's history and public safety. Funds can be raised for these security cameras if:

15 people donate $1,000 each;
30 people donate $500 each;
60 people donate $250 each; or
150 people donate $100 each.

100% of all donations to this initiative will be used towards covering the costs of the security cameras. Pictures below show examples of what the cameras look like in other neighborhoods for reference. Some are installed more discrete without signage to focus on catching crime, others are installed a bit more obvious/promenant to focus on deterring crime. Some cities in Northern California allow the cameras on public posts like street signs and intersection poles, but City of Los Angeles has not yet allowed it:

Here's a more detailed breakdown of the Flock Safety cameras:

What is the purpose:

To help law enforcement identify suspects, recover stolen vehicles, and solve crimes.
To provide communities with a tool to enhance security and safety.
More details here: https://www.flocksafety.com/use-cases/neighborhood-safety

What is the cost:

Cost is $2,950 per camera. It is $14,750 for all five cameras.
Annual fee (ongoing expense): $2,400 per camera per year
Implementation fee (one time expense): $550 per camera
Flock Safety installs the cameras, services them and continuously upgrades the cameras at no additional cost.

Where do they go:

Outpost Neighborhood Association will ask neighbors that live around the five entrances to the neighborhood to volunteer to install the cameras on a pole on their property with a solar panel to power the cameras to avoid a lengthy process to instal cameras on City property.

What they record:

License plate numbers
Vehicle make, model, and color
Other vehicle characteristics, including damage and aftermarket alterations
Date, time, and location of the vehicle sighting
Images of the back of the vehicle

What they don't record:

Images of people or faces
Facial recognition technology

How they work:

Flock Safety cameras use artificial intelligence (AI) to read license plates and identify vehicle characteristics.
They are connected to a central server via a cellular network.
The data is stored in a searchable database.
The system compares the data with law enforcement databases, such as the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), to identify stolen vehicles or vehicles of interest.

What about privacy:

Flock Safety emphasizes privacy protection measures to mitigate the potential for misuse of the sensitive data collected by its cameras.
The Flock Safety data is only accessible by Outpost Neighborhood Association and LAPD.
All logins and queries will be stored and monitored including: Username, Date, Time, Purpose of query, License plate and other elements used to query the system.
Outpost Neighborhood Association will create a privacy policy specific to the cameras before they are installed.

Who gets access to the data:

All neighbors would get access to the platform as needed, so if there is crime in the neighborhood neighbors can track vehicles/license plates and provide that information to the police to help catch criminals. Use a Google-like search 24/7 from your phone or computer to identify vehicles in seconds.

Examples of camera placement locations at each of the entrances to the neighborhood:

Outpost Neighborhood Association will ask neighbors that live around the five entrances to the neighborhood to volunteer to install the cameras on a pole on their property with a solar panel to power the cameras to avoid a lengthy process to instal cameras on City property.