Hey there,
I work for a non-profit that manages a couple of Business Improvement Districts in Oakland. We handle basic maintenance, safety, beautification, street festivals etc... We also act as liaisons between the merchants and local police and unfortunately crime is an issue in this city. Merchants want to see some results from the police and the police wanted some better facts to go on. When video evidence was available it was often unfruitful because there was no identifiable information being recorded. We decided to confront this issue on a district level. If we could record license plates at key choke points in the district then when a crime occurred we could provide law enforcement with information that could at minimum, create a lead and potentially effect an arrest. I was tasked with bringing this program to life. This was in 2018 and I knew nothing about LPRs or ip cameras period. After a flailing around for a while I spoke with someone on the community crime council who suggested that I check out ipcamtalk, so I did... You were all way way way over my head. (e.g. "I have a 5231-z12 mounted 10ft high and 83ft from the street at 37 deg and with a 1/2.8 cmos sensor I need 100ppf which with a 1080p native 16:9 resolution at 55mm zoom is a 12ft HoV......") Yall had me in stitches. I actually read a post or two to my coworkers to prove what unbelievable dorks you all are. In retrospect its clear to me that you were indeed complete nerds. Nerds that I admire and attempt to emulate. You guys are amazing. You gave me the requisite knowledge to build an ip camera system that would reliably capture license plates day and night, at 40mph from 150ft away in a poorly light intersection. And, you are the sole stewards of this information. This information is not available anywhere else. Nowhere. seriously.
I used your blueprints and built a system that worked and yielded results. With in the first few months we provided a license plate to OPD that led directly to the arrest of 3 murder suspects who have since been convicted. (News clip below)
Since then we have installed more than 20 LPR systems in four business districts across the city. Your system has provided key evidence to law enforcement in a handful of homicides and dozens of robberies & burglaries. In a cash-strapped city with an over-burdened police force this system is a real asset. Your system has been held up by OPD up as a an example of effective video surveillance and clips have appeared on the local news several times as Oakland struggles to get crime under control. The system has been so successful that I am installing, configuring and maintaining them fulltime. It has grown beyond the scope of our organization, so I am spinning it off into a business with the same mission as its parent program of providing effective and relatively affordable ipcam solutions to the small business communities that need it.
Sorry for the long, rambling introduction, but not really. This story is a significant part of my career and life over the last few years and I think or I hope some of you will be glad to know that the knowledge, passion, and dorkery that you have cultivated here in this forum is not just of value to people interested in buying a camera or stalking their neighbors. Your efforts are making a real difference in the world, or at least in one community that I know of. That should make you feel good. Thank you! See ya round.
Here are a couple of news clips that show IRL instances of your impact. Please view them with that intent. I do not want to sensationalize these or any crime and I hope it doesn't seem like I am building a monument to myself. Not intended.
View attachment Screen_Recording_20221126_041505_Chrome.mp4
View attachment Screen_Recording_20220508-170506_Chrome.mp4
I work for a non-profit that manages a couple of Business Improvement Districts in Oakland. We handle basic maintenance, safety, beautification, street festivals etc... We also act as liaisons between the merchants and local police and unfortunately crime is an issue in this city. Merchants want to see some results from the police and the police wanted some better facts to go on. When video evidence was available it was often unfruitful because there was no identifiable information being recorded. We decided to confront this issue on a district level. If we could record license plates at key choke points in the district then when a crime occurred we could provide law enforcement with information that could at minimum, create a lead and potentially effect an arrest. I was tasked with bringing this program to life. This was in 2018 and I knew nothing about LPRs or ip cameras period. After a flailing around for a while I spoke with someone on the community crime council who suggested that I check out ipcamtalk, so I did... You were all way way way over my head. (e.g. "I have a 5231-z12 mounted 10ft high and 83ft from the street at 37 deg and with a 1/2.8 cmos sensor I need 100ppf which with a 1080p native 16:9 resolution at 55mm zoom is a 12ft HoV......") Yall had me in stitches. I actually read a post or two to my coworkers to prove what unbelievable dorks you all are. In retrospect its clear to me that you were indeed complete nerds. Nerds that I admire and attempt to emulate. You guys are amazing. You gave me the requisite knowledge to build an ip camera system that would reliably capture license plates day and night, at 40mph from 150ft away in a poorly light intersection. And, you are the sole stewards of this information. This information is not available anywhere else. Nowhere. seriously.
I used your blueprints and built a system that worked and yielded results. With in the first few months we provided a license plate to OPD that led directly to the arrest of 3 murder suspects who have since been convicted. (News clip below)
Since then we have installed more than 20 LPR systems in four business districts across the city. Your system has provided key evidence to law enforcement in a handful of homicides and dozens of robberies & burglaries. In a cash-strapped city with an over-burdened police force this system is a real asset. Your system has been held up by OPD up as a an example of effective video surveillance and clips have appeared on the local news several times as Oakland struggles to get crime under control. The system has been so successful that I am installing, configuring and maintaining them fulltime. It has grown beyond the scope of our organization, so I am spinning it off into a business with the same mission as its parent program of providing effective and relatively affordable ipcam solutions to the small business communities that need it.
Sorry for the long, rambling introduction, but not really. This story is a significant part of my career and life over the last few years and I think or I hope some of you will be glad to know that the knowledge, passion, and dorkery that you have cultivated here in this forum is not just of value to people interested in buying a camera or stalking their neighbors. Your efforts are making a real difference in the world, or at least in one community that I know of. That should make you feel good. Thank you! See ya round.
Here are a couple of news clips that show IRL instances of your impact. Please view them with that intent. I do not want to sensationalize these or any crime and I hope it doesn't seem like I am building a monument to myself. Not intended.
View attachment Screen_Recording_20221126_041505_Chrome.mp4
View attachment Screen_Recording_20220508-170506_Chrome.mp4
