On Tuesday, the El Cerrito City Council will discuss its FLOCK Safety program – cancel or renew an agreement.
According to the agenda item, the council is asking to enter into an agreement with Flock Safety for the provision of license plate reading cameras to the City for a period of up to three years at a cost not to exceed $315,000.
The city entered into an agreement with FLOCK Safety in March 2023 which included the installation of 40 license plate reading cameras (LPR). The system went live by August 2023.
According to the staff report, The system detects approximately 12,280 vehicles each day and generates an average of 247 alerts each day, based off hot list matches. The system is designed to easily share information with other law enforcement agencies. Currently, the City of El Cerrito shares LPR data with 318 California law enforcement agencies and has access to 281 Flock Safety LPR databases in the state.
Police say the LPR system has become a staple of El Cerrito investigations. It has played a role in at least sixty-four (64) arrests and three hundred twenty-four (324) criminal cases. This number is a conservative estimate. The system has helped identify suspects in many cases that might otherwise have gone undetected, including a fatal hit-and-run.
Similar to the City of Richmond, during an audit, El Cerrito Police learned after news reports that unwanted federal and out-of-state sharing occurred–the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPS) and the Loma Linda Healthcare Systems Veterans Affairs Police (VA Police), had limited periods in which they could search the El Cerrito system. Richmond recently opted, via a 3-2 vote, to turn their cameras back on noting vehicle thefts spiked.
To address concerns about sharing and access, the ECPD posted redacted network and organizational audit logs online to the ECPD Public Records Archive. The LPR coordinator is now responsible for auditing all system usage at the conclusion of each month and authoring a report to the Chief of Police.
Police Provided Context
The El Cerrito LPR system has contributed to solving serious offenses in El Cerrito, including the following examples:
- September 2023, Armed Robbery – The armed suspect approached the victim on Richmond St., fired a bullet into the air, and stole the victim’s Rolex watch. The suspect fled in a Dodge Charger. Detectives used the LPR system to link the suspect with other armed robberies in the region. The detectives connected the vehicle to a suspect, and he is currently in custody out of state, awaiting extradition to California.
- December 2023, Murder – The LPR system provided valuable information about the movement of a homicide suspect, residing in El Cerrito, both before and after he murdered the victim in Capitola, CA. The suspect was convicted of murder.
- March 2024, Burglary – Three suspects, operating in two teams, burglarized a tobacco store in El Cerrito. Two of the suspects used a truck to ram the front of the store. The third suspect acted as a lookout in another vehicle. Patrol officers, aided by the California Highway Patrol, apprehended two of the suspects during their response to the call. Detectives used LPR cameras during the follow-up investigation to identify and apprehend the lookout.
- May 2024, Felony Hit and Run – The LPR system helped investigators confirm the identity of a hit-and-run driver after she ran over a pedestrian at the intersection of Cutting Blvd. and San Pablo Ave. The driver was charged with felony hit-and-run.
- July 2024, Vehicular Manslaughter, Hit and Run – The system helped investigators identify a suspect vehicle following a fatal hit-and-run collision on San Pablo Ave., near the intersection with Central Ave. Once the vehicle was identified, detectives used the system to locate the vehicle and owner the following day in Concord, CA. After interviewing the owner, detectives identified and apprehended the driver of the vehicle, on the night of the crime. The driver was convicted of vehicular manslaughter.
- February 2025, Armed Home Invasion Robbery – Officers responded to a home invasion robbery, during which two armed suspects woke residents at gunpoint after breaking into their house just before midnight. The following day, patrol officers located video surveillance footage of the suspect’s vehicle and found matching records in the LPR system. Investigators used the LPR system to locate the suspect’s vehicle later that day, in Dixon, CA. Investigators apprehended one of the suspects asleep inside the car.
- December 2025, Robbery – Investigators used LPR footage to match possible suspects with a robbery. During the robbery, one suspect grabbed the victim, stole her phone, and then threw her to the ground, injuring her head. Detectives followed a lead from Berkeley Police that helped them connect the suspects and the suspect’s vehicle to the El Cerrito crime. The suspects are currently wanted for the crime.
- January/February 2026, Burglary Series – Officers and Detectives used the LPR system to identify two separate groups of residential burglary suspects, targeting houses in El Cerrito and neighboring cities. ECPD Detectives apprehended one group of suspects and charged them with residential burglary. Detectives continue to work with neighboring departments to apprehend the other burglary crew.
- March 2026, Auto Burglary Series – Detectives identified a suspect vehicle following vehicle burglaries during the night in El Cerrito. After Richmond Police located and towed the vehicle, detectives recovered property for multiple victims, including a $7,000 East Bay Regional Parks Fire Department portable radio, stolen from the personal vehicle of a firefighter in El Cerrito.
In El Cerrito, the LPR system supports every major criminal investigation. In 2025, El Cerrito experienced a historically significant decline in three serious crime categories. The City experienced the lowest levels of burglary and vehicle theft in 40 years. El Cerrito also experienced the second-lowest level of robbery during the same period.
Compared to the year 2022, the last full year without license plate reading cameras, clearance rates have increased dramatically in the crime categories of robbery, assault, burglary and larceny. A crime is considered “cleared” when the suspect is arrested. The clearances rates, listed in the chart below, represent the percentage of cases cleared by the El Cerrito Police Department in 2022 and 2025. The final column represents the percentage increase in clearances in those categories.
Financial:
This agreement would obligate the City to pay a total of $315,000 over the three-year term (FY 2026-27 through FY 2028-29) or $105,000 over a one-year term (FY 2026-27), depending on which quote the City accepts. The City would pay this amount in three annual payments of $105,000 or one annual payment of $105,000. Future year funding will be included in the proposed annual budget and is subject to City Council approval of annual appropriations. The funding source is currently projected to be from the C.O.P.S. grant fund (222), which has a projected ending fund balance of $153,056 for fiscal year 2026. The C.O.P.S. grant fund typically generates a minimum of $100,000 in grant funding annually
El Cerrito Police Issue Community Bulletin on Flock Agenda Item,:
On Tuesday, May 5, 2026, the El Cerrito City Council will be deciding to cancel or renew an agreement with Flock Safety for license plate reading cameras in El Cerrito. If the City Council decides to cancel the contract, all cameras will be turned off on June 7, 2026.
The El Cerrito Police Department has found the License Plate Reading Camera system to be an effective tool to help them solve more cases, prevent crime, and lower crime rates.
If you want your voice to be heard you can appear at the meeting in person, tune in on Zoom, or submit written comments in advance of the meeting. The meeting begins at 6:00 pm; the City expects the Flock discussion to begin around 8:00 pm. You can submit written comments to: cityclerk@elcerrito.gov. Please indicate Agenda Item #9B.
If You Go
El Cerrito City Council Meeting
May 5, 2026
6:00 pm
10890 San Pablo Ave, El Cerrito
Agenda: Click Here