We want to keep Vallejo safe from gun violence this summer. Achieving this will require a collective effort that includes reinforcing the mission of Operation PEACE to garnering support from stakeholders and educating the community about the use of ALPR technology to protect our citizens.
“The Operation PEACE initiative launched last year has proven to be an effective, multi-pronged approach to combating violent crime. It’s time to step up our efforts even more,” said Chief Williams. “ALPR cameras could lead us to a violent criminal, help us make an arrest, give the victim’s loved ones closure, and give our community a peace of mind knowing arrests have been made.”
Through Operation PEACE, Vallejo PD partners its efforts with law enforcement agencies on the federal, state, and local level to focus enforcement on specific issues such as predictive enforcement and engagement with our community leaders.
Not only will Vallejo PD continue its efforts with partners (U.S. Attorney California Eastern District, CHP, Solano County DA’ Office, FBI, ATF and more), the Department is also turning to Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) technology to provide another tool to our peace officers who are fighting crime.
"We must provide our officers and our community members with the tools to identify individuals who don’t value human life," Chief Williams stated. "We cannot be everywhere at once, but technology will help us work smarter. Our Smart City Initiative, that utilizes ALPR and CCTV technology, will empower our officers, community partners and city employees to identify and hopefully stop prolific offenders before they commit their next crime."
ALPR cameras are currently installed in various parts of the city and capture the license plate numbers of people driving in the area. Those images are stored for 30 days. The program does not use facial recognition, nor are the license plate numbers shared with a third party. The ALPR technology, which may also be privatized by property and business owners, has already aided in leads for homicide investigations, stolen vehicle and gun recoveries, burglaries and a range of other crimes. If a license plate number matches that of a vehicle wanted in a crime, an alert is sent to the police department.
Overall, we want to reassure the Vallejo community that we are doing all we can to address violent crime, draw additional resources and bring justice to families impacted by senseless gun violence. We must also continue to make trauma-informed care services and resources in the City of Vallejo a priority to address the multi-disciplinary factors surrounding crime and its unruly grip on members of our community.
