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Loomis neighborhood installs license plate cameras to deter crime

Flock Safety cameras capture every license plate in and out of the neighborhood.

LOOMIS, Calif — The cars that pass through the Sierra De Montserrat community don't go unnoticed because there are eyes on every license plate.

The neighborhood installed Flock Safety license plate reader cameras in May to deter crime and prevent suspicious people from coming and going through their neighborhood.

"Those cameras are license plate-reading cameras," said Hans Geyer, the HOA President for Sierra De Montserrat. "They are not video cameras that take continuous video stream. They just take a picture of every car that enters or exists the community."

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Some may say this seems extreme, but Geyer said that's the point. Flock Safety gives them extreme security to avoid and prevent crime.

"The good news is getting people on board, once a crime has happened is relatively easy," Geyer said.

How does it work? Geyer said the camera takes a picture of the car and license plate, uploads it to the cloud, then stores the image for up to 30 days on a server. That image can be searched in case there is a crime. Police can have access if there is a crime to look into and neighbors can choose to opt out.

"They are awesome. It definitely reduces our anxiety," said Renae Linder, a homeowner in the neighborhood. "We've had several break-ins in the last year and even though some of our neighbors have caught the person on cameras, the police weren't able to help us because they weren't able to have identifying information."

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Last year, before the cameras were installed there were several burglaries where surveillance cameras caught a glimpse of the suspect, but it wasn't enough to help police.

"They said 'Well, it would be nice if you have a license plate,'" Geyer said. 

Now, they have every license plate coming in and out.

"I love the idea of these cameras," Linder said. "I have a personal camera on my own home at the gate and on my home, but to be able to identify people's license plate numbers is extremely beneficial to the community."

Since these cameras have been watching, residents say their neighborhood has been safe and they want it to stay that way.

"No, they haven't been useful so far, from a crime point of view. Fortunately, we didn't have a crime since then, which is good, and hopefully we won't need it for that purpose," Geyer said.

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