For two years, one Ortega neighborhood has used license plate readers to track who has been going in and out of the area bringing some residents a peace of mind.
“Prior to the cameras, we had nothing at all other than you know your eyeballs, we just wanted to have something on film that would help us to identify who’s coming in and who’s leaving the neighborhood," said Ortega Forrest homeowner association president Bill Bell.
Bell’s Ortega Forrest Neighborhood has been pretty quiet lately, but that hasn’t always been the case.
“A few years ago, we had a lady in our neighborhood held up at gunpoint in her driveway when she came back from the grocery store," he said.
That was about 15 years ago, but Bell wonders if the community had the license plate readers that they have now, would they have been able to catch the person responsible.
The association added license plate readers two years ago in addition to cameras already in place. The readers capture every car that’s coming in and going out of the neighborhood, much like how home security systems can be monitored from a cell phone.
"We can also tell if this person, if this is the first time they’ve been in the neighborhood or if they come 10 times a day," Bell added.
The cameras are motion censored to pick-up drivers as they go by. So how much does a system like this cost?
“It’s about $1,500 a year, per camera," Bell said.
The association president said about 900 homeowners supported the installation. The cameras in total were around $6,000 a year. That comes out to about $7 per homeowner to have the systems in place.
The homes in the association had the option of chipping in for the system. It is monitored by neighbors and not directly tied to law enforcement, but Bell said, he doesn’t mind the expense.
"It’s a peace of mind," he said.
Bell said he is considering adding more cameras and readers if homeowners will go along with it.