In response to a rash of burglaries in town, the Atherton Police Department will ask the City Council at its meeting on Wednesday, March 20, to direct staff to study installing license-plate readers around town to "detect, solve, prevent and deter" crime, according to a staff report.
Automatic license plate readers, known as ALPRs, are mounted on police cars or on fixtures such as road signs and bridges; they use small high-speed cameras to photograph about 900 plates per minute, according to a town staff report.
“It affords us a set of extra eyes and ears around town,” Atherton police Comdr. Joe Wade told The Almanac.
The question of whether to install cameras in town was raised at a January meeting on the town’s home burglary spree, City Manager George Rodericks said in an email this week.
The crime spree dates back to late 2018. There have been eight residential burglaries in Atherton so far this year and 22 since last November, according to police data. About $2 million worth of goods was reported stolen in the first four incidents of 2019, police said.
Menlo Park and Portola Valley are among local jurisdictions that have installed surveillance systems that record license plates.
More than 70 percent of crimes in the U.S. involve a vehicle, according to a police department report.
Wade noted that often people use stolen vehicles to commit crimes. If police have an image of a stolen car’s license plate in town during a specific time and location that a crime occurred, and have reason to believe that the car was used by the criminal, police can punch that information into the license plate reader system and see if that car shows up in other nearby towns, he said.
License plate information has helped solve other crimes in Atherton in the past, Wade said. For example, in the case of a 2014 residential burglary in Atherton, the victim’s credit card was used at Target. Target surveillance captured a photo of the suspects and the license plate number of the car they traveled in to get to the store. Police entered the plate number into the license plate reader system and learned that the drivers of the car were wanted in a crime.
A day or two later, a license plate reader recorded the car in San Francisco. The California Highway Patrol was alerted, stopped the vehicle, and caught the burglars, he said.
The town already had some infrastructure in place to accommodate traffic cameras and public safety cameras, said Rodericks. A private group called Atherton Fiber has been installing a new high-speed internet service in town. As part of that project and in exchange for leasable space near the town’s telecommunications tower for Atherton Fiber's hub, the town negotiated the installation of fiber wiring in all town facilities and the installation of fiber cables at all major intersections around town for future town use, he said.
At the same time, town staff may have to grapple with privacy challenges that come with installing cameras around town, according to a staff report.
Groups like the American Civil Liberties Union are opposed to license plate readers since the information captured by the readers -- including the license plate number and the date, time, and location of every scan -- is sometimes pooled into regional sharing systems, according to the ACLU website. As a result, police are creating, and storing, enormous databases of innocent motorists’ location information, and there are few restrictions to protect privacy rights, according to the ACLU.
The ACLU obtained records this month that show local governments in cities such as Merced and Union City, California, are feeding their residents’ personal information to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, even when it violates local privacy laws or sanctuary policies.
License plate readers do not collect personal identifying information, see into your vehicle, use facial recognition software or share vehicle information with private sector companies, according to the Atherton police presentation. The readers don’t transfer data to the federal government and surveillance cameras owned and maintained by the town would only capture video footage from public areas, according to the report the police will present at the meeting.
Storm drainage projects
Also on the council agenda tonight is the question of how to fund repairs to a Peninsula storm drainage system that is more than 50 years old.
Town staff is requesting feedback and direction from council members on the type of funding options they would like staff to study further, and is asking the council to prioritize which capital improvement projects for the Atherton Channel Drainage District it wants to pursue.
During a Feb. 6 presentation to the town, a representative from NBS -- a consulting group for local governments -- outlined several funding options to address capital needs of the Atherton Channel Drainage District, including property-related fees, a special parcel tax and special benefit assessments.
The town has categorized system needs within the district. The most immediate need is for improvements that mitigate flooding problems that can create "significant life and safety issues," according to the district's master plan. This includes replacing eroding channel lining on the Atherton Channel north of Interstate 280 between San Francisco Water Line and Reservoir Road, according to the master plan.
The town is considering building a water detention facility that would cost an estimated $73,000 to maintain each year.
The Atherton Channel Drainage District has 1,354 parcels in Atherton and 1,041 parcels in Menlo Park, according to a staff report.
Tonight's council meeting takes place at 7 p.m. at Council Chambers, 94 Ashfield Road in Atherton.
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Comments
Menlo Park: Central Menlo Park
on Mar 20, 2019 at 10:30 am
on Mar 20, 2019 at 10:30 am
Since when does MP have license plate readers?
There are two cameras on a tall pole at the intersection of Cotton and Hillview. Is that a license plate reader?
Portola Valley: Brookside Park
on Mar 20, 2019 at 12:17 pm
on Mar 20, 2019 at 12:17 pm
How many access points do vehicles have to Atherton? Seems like it would be pretty expensive to cover all of them, or even a quarter of them.
Atherton: other
on Mar 20, 2019 at 12:46 pm
on Mar 20, 2019 at 12:46 pm
"... to combat crime spree"
- eight residential burglaries in Atherton so far this year
- 22 since last November
What's the historical data? 10 years ago? 20? Certainly, if one pays much attention to social media, it seems higher, but SM tends to blow things way out of proportion.
Data?
Atherton: Lindenwood
on Mar 20, 2019 at 12:58 pm
on Mar 20, 2019 at 12:58 pm
The reports are in from the year that PV used them if anyone cares to look for them.
If the goal is to spend lots of money on something that will do nothing it's intended to do, this is a good project.
Atherton: other
on Mar 20, 2019 at 1:04 pm
on Mar 20, 2019 at 1:04 pm
This is off topic, but the intersection mentioned in a comment above - Hillview and Cotton - would be better served with mirrors. I cross is almost daily and it's impossible to see a vehicle coming unless you're almost in the middle of street and most drivers just blow through it. Not sure why the cameras are there unless to capture a collision but mirrors could prevent one.
Atherton: Lindenwood
on Mar 20, 2019 at 2:47 pm
on Mar 20, 2019 at 2:47 pm
I am sympathetic to reducing crime but I must disagree with putting this tool in the hands of this police department. The potential to abuse is too high, and the history of this department abusing such things is too established.
Registered user
Atherton: West Atherton
on Mar 20, 2019 at 3:28 pm
Registered user
on Mar 20, 2019 at 3:28 pm
Anyone with a cell phone, in a car or on foot, is tracked every hour of every day by Google, Facebook and others with far more precision than the proposed license plate reader can provide. No one has the right to keep their license plate private in the public realm. Rather than hire scribes to record license plates on cars traversing through Atherton using an automated system to record plates makes great sense.
The police department routinely reviews video captured by private homeowners now to assist in investigating crimes. Why is a publicly owned system any more or less threatening to my civil rights? It isn't.
Atherton: other
on Mar 20, 2019 at 4:10 pm
on Mar 20, 2019 at 4:10 pm
@Just the Facts...
What are "The Facts"? 8 burglaries in 3 months this year... what is the historical average?
Also, nice strawman: "hire scribes"
Only 'facts' presented are comments about cost versus actual effectiveness, and the failed PV experiment. There are also many questions about the privacy, use and storage of collected data. Ask anyone who knows a cop who accessed data beyond the scope of work (ie. stalking old gf's, etc..)
Atherton: West Atherton
on Mar 20, 2019 at 5:02 pm
on Mar 20, 2019 at 5:02 pm
"Just the Facts" says: "Anyone with a cell phone, in a car or on foot, is tracked every hour of every day by Google, Facebook and others with far more precision than the proposed license plate reader can provide."
Yes, BUT, I can choose not to use Facebook, Google or the cell phone if I am concerned about my privacy in this regard. I cannot choose not to be monitored by the Atherton Police Department under this proposal.
I agree with "Hell No". This department has what is considered one of the most flagrant histories of police database abuse in California. One incident in which a cop tried to look up information about his ex girlfriend, and another in which the department ran background checks on a man the daughter of a council member was dating. All of this published in the Almanac newspaper at the time, and no corrective/disciplinary action taken.
Given the data very close to home (Portola Valley) shows this won't help, is expensive, and can (and, given the very sad history, probably will) be abused, it's an easy "NO" thanks.
Registered user
Atherton: West Atherton
on Mar 23, 2019 at 4:12 pm
Registered user
on Mar 23, 2019 at 4:12 pm
I’ve been an Atherton resident since 1956 and I am all in favor of license plate readers. Sadly it’s not the ‘50’s anymore. Halcion days are gone .
Why is anybody’s “right to privacy “disturbed when it reads a license plate? Every time you go over a bridge it reads your license plate… So what??? I am all for a safe and secure neighborhood against these thugs. Just walked on any public street and you were under scrutiny by peoples security cameras.
If you truly want to be off the grid just walk, bicycle, or join the Amish community
Atherton: other
on Mar 23, 2019 at 4:20 pm
on Mar 23, 2019 at 4:20 pm
@ranchgal
Sorry you were unable to read the comments posted before yours. Most of the questions are about the privacy, use and storage of collected data. And the failed PV experiment.
You're worried about "THUGS" walking the streets of Atherton? Really? We live in the same part of town....