Community Watch Campaign
MCF raised $60,000 for the Moraga Police Department’s purchase and installation of community safety cameras.
The Moraga Police Department planned video-camera installations at five strategic high-traffic locations, including Canyon Road, Moraga Way, Moraga Road, Rheem Boulevard, and St. Mary’s Road.
Each location included a license-plate-recognition camera and a high-definition color overview camera directed at vehicles entering or leaving Moraga. The overview cameras helped identify vehicle color, make, and model.
The cameras connected through a secured wireless network to a secure server within the Moraga Police Department. License-plate information was stored under the Town’s records-retention policy, while overview recordings were retained for 30 days before deletion or overwrite.
The information was not intended for continuous monitoring. It was available to MPD investigators in connection with specific crimes and was not to be used for other purposes or sent outside the department’s secured environment.
Why Community Watch Cameras?
The experience of Orinda and Lafayette demonstrated that strategically placed cameras could help police solve crimes and deter future crimes. Information collected by the cameras could help investigators identify and apprehend perpetrators more quickly and efficiently.
The Town funded the first camera pair. MCF’s Community Watch Campaign funded the remaining cameras, site preparation, mounting, electrical and wireless connections, data storage, portable cameras, security enclosures, memory cards, batteries, and chargers.