Readers of this site will know that the criminally minded occasionally venture within our borders to plunder local homes for electronics, jewelry and anything else they can find. Despite the best efforts of local police, they have been relatively successful – and some residents and police officials are seeking some high-tech help in fighting them.
Closed circuit television camera and license plate reader technology has been around for some time, and usually leap to mind after a crew of thieves stages a periodic, successful raid on a local home. The idea of spotting cameras and plate readers around town to obtain key information on precisely who is moving around here is almost always hailed – at first. And then people start thinking about the kind of information being captured, where it is going, who is storing it and how it is going to be used.
The Orinda City Council will hear a presentation on the crime fighting cameras at its regular meeting tonight at 7 p.m. (a little later, few things to handle first). Chief Mark Nagel is expected to update the council on the gadgetry available to the city should it wish to spot six new cameras and plate readers at key locations in and around town. Thinking is that the cameras would capture license plate, make and model information of cars believed to have been involved in local crimes – with that information often proving critical in the prosecution of those crimes.
