At its Tuesday meeting, the Orinda City Council will discuss expanding its camera network while possibly taking over neighborhood cameras.
The City Council received a request from Evan Dreyer, a resident of the Knickerbocker neighborhood, regarding the City taking over privately maintained license plate reader cameras at Stein Way / Quail Ridge Lane and Underhill Road / Spring Road. After a year of being in place, Mr. Dreyer is requesting that the City take over operations and maintenance of the existing LPR on Stein Way / Quail Ridge Lane and Underhill Road / Spring Road.
Also, back on April 15, Orinda Police Chief Anthony Rossi say there had been 108 residential burglaries between 2020-2024. He also provided data from several other categories including commercial burglaries, auto burglaries and vehicle thefts.
According to crime data:
| Crime | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| Residential Burglaries | 28 | 19 | 23 | 23 | 15 |
| Commercial Burglaries | 14 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 8 |
| Auto Burglaries | 20 | 21 | 16 | 20 | 14 |
| Vehicle Theft | 17 | 32 | 24 | 24 | 17 |
| Arrests | 78 | 66 | 164 | 151 | 142 |
Per the Staff Report:
According to the staff report, Staff consulted with Police Chief Rossi regarding the request, as well as reviewing the City’s current inventory of LPRs to determine whether there’s a public need for Mr. Dreyer’s cameras. In summary, there does not seem to be a need to maintain this camera for public use as the area, including all points of exit and entry to the Knickerbocker neighborhood, are covered by a current inventory of LPRs.
Overview of LPR Program
Currently, the City maintains seven LPR locations in the community with two scheduled for installation, and the Orinda Police Department also has access to 12 privately owned LPRs. The City receives about 50 alerts annually for wanted vehicles, averaging between four to five per month. The Police Department’s arrest data indicates that stops and arrests based on those alerts can range from 20-50 percent, depending on current calls for service or the vehicles already entering the freeway and officers unable to locate the vehicle. In addition to this, about 90 percent of the alerts received are where the front plate was reported stolen, but the correct rear plate is attached to the vehicle that is driving through the City.
In addition to the existing LPRs, Staff worked with Chief Rossi to develop a proposed list of an additional 15 locations for future expansion of the camera program. The goal of these proposed locations is to provide full coverage of the entry and exit points into Orinda as well as to all the community’s neighborhoods. The cost of adding these cameras is approximately $55,000 for the physical equipment, software and related installation costs. The annual cost for the new cameras is estimated at $45,000. Staff is currently developing the next two-year budget and is recommending that the additional cameras be included in the FY 2025-26/2026-27 budget process. Staff recommends that the City Council provide direction on whether to include these LPR costs in the proposed budget. Related to this, the City has requested these new LPRs as part of the annual federal appropriations process through our Senate and Congressional offices. Should this funding materialize, Staff will report back to the City Council.
In summary, the Staff would not recommend the inclusion of Mr. Dreyer’s two cameras into the City’s publicly owned system but would recommend that the City Council consider the inclusion of 15 new, publicly owned LPRs to provide the greatest coverage throughout the entire community. These could be included in the upcoming budget process.
Should the City Council consider the inclusion of the new LPRs in the next budget cycle, there would be a one-time cost of approximately $55,000 and an annual cost of $45,000 in year two.
If You Go
ORINDA CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA
Tuesday, May 6, 2025
7:00 PM – REGULAR MEETING
