The Berkeley City Council is voting on whether to allow the police department to install license plate readers (LPRs) in Berkeley. We’re expecting a lot of resistance, so we need your public comments and emails more than ever!
The Facts
LPRs work! After the city of Vacaville installed LPRs it saw a a 33% decrease in auto theft and a 35% increase in arrests related to auto thefts. And the benefits didn’t stop there:
Meanwhile, Berkeley has experienced a surge in violent crime including armed robberies, assaults, and carjackings. Nearly 4 cars a day are stolen in Berkeley. That’s 703 vehicles stolen over the last six months alone- a 43% increase over the previous six months.
Assistant DA Butch Ford recently told us that a large amount of violent crime affecting Berkeley—including our students—is committed by people driving in from surrounding communities like Oakland. LPRs are a vital tool in identifying and apprehending these criminals.
Want more info? Check out this article from Berkeleyside.
How you can help
Public comment
We need you to join the meeting via Zoom and speak during public comment. There are a few different times to speak: we need you to wait until item 38a comes up for comment. (“Surveillance Ordinance items related to Fixed Automated License Plate Readers”)
💡 Join us on our private Slack group & we’ll help you identify exactly when to raise your virtual hand to speak! Just email us at: contact@safebears.org & we’ll set you up!
Want to help but not sure what to say? Start here!
Email the City Council
If you can’t attend, you can still help by sending email to the City Council. Copy & paste our talking points above, make any edits you like, and send to:
Your emails matter! They were vital in helping appoint a full time Chief of Police earlier this year. Please be sure to send yours before July 23 if possible so they are printed out and distributed to all City Council members prior to the meeting.