How Can You Help?

How can you help?

Everyone in Pine Hills benefits from the off-duty Police Patrols and the LPR (License Plate Reader) camera. Whether by deterring it in the first place, stopping it in progress, or aiding in investigations leading to the apprehension of perpetrators, we are always working to fight crime.

But this comes at a cost:
Over 1,000 patrol hours scheduled annually = $45,000+
Flock LPR camera fees = $2,000 per camera / $26,000/year (currently 13 cameras)

Join Security Today

Our goal is to provide even more security coverage — but we are struggling financially to continue providing it at our current membership levels. We need more neighbors to join and contribute today. The more members, the more patrol hours and the more cameras we can afford. Every dollar goes directly to the program! To join, please follow this link.

Always call 911 first if you think you are in danger or someone else might be or there is another situation requiring immediate police attention. But then please also call us and let us know. We would also like to know when something is concerning you that might not warrant a 911 call. Sharing that information with us, whether through an email to security@mypinehills.org or a call to our cell number (404-788-2248), allows our Officers to focus on specific concerns and potential threats while carrying out their broader security activities.

Here is a real example of how working together helped prevent a crime:
In January 2020 a neighbor was driving home on Shady Valley Dr. when she noticed a man walking on the sidewalk toward W. Roxboro. He looked out of place and was avoiding eye contact with passing motorists, so she called the PHNA Security phone number. One of our PHNA Patrol Officers responded to the scene where he observed the individual hiding between two homes and approached him.

The suspect had outstanding warrants for his arrest for burglary and possession of burglary tools and had burglary tools on him at the time. He was arrested on the spot. 

By “seeing something and saying something,” this concerned neighbor may well have prevented a home burglary in Pine Hills!

Our Flock LPR cameras read and photograph license plates numbers—that is their primary purpose— but they also do much more. We are able to search the Flock database for the color, type, make and model of every vehicle that enters Pine Hills during the month as well as determine its time of entry and how many times it has been here before. Your help by providing information is key to making those capabilities effective law enforcement tools.

Here is an example of how LPRs helped solve a Pine Hills crime:
In March 2020 a Ferncliff Place resident’s garage was burglarized. Exterior video cameras at the premises recorded images of vehicle which were not clear but did show the time and that the vehicle involved was possibly a dark-colored SUV. With those bits of information, we were able to search the Flock camera server and identify by make, model, color and license plate number a suspect vehicle that had entered Pine Hills for the first time during the relevant time frame. That vehicle’s involvement in the burglary was confirmed when it returned to Pine Hills two nights later for another burglary attempt at the same home, using a garage door opener it had stolen during the first burglary.

By working together and connecting details from both the LPR and home video cams, the perpetrator was tracked down and arrested and some personal items were recovered and returned to the victim.

JOIN the Pine Hills Security Camera Team!
This successful combination of home video and Flock LPR camera capabilities led to forming the Pine Hills Home Security Camera Team, where neighbors with video cameras help investigate crimes in their area by checking their cameras for evidence. On their own, LPR cameras and individual home video cameras have certain forensic limitations, but when used in combination LPRs and home videos can be powerful crime fighting tools. We encourage all residents to consider installing home security cameras and ask all those that have them to join our Team by sending your name and contact details to Security@mypinehills.org.

Click here for more information on our PHNA Security Camera program.

Click here to meet our PHNA police patrols.

Header photo courtesy of WJAC-TV