How “LPRs” Work

All LPR cameras are high-tech, solar-powered and wireless, motion-activated, and high (5MP) resolution, capable of reliably capturing license plates.  While they are not actively monitored, they record images based on activity (motion), which are stored on a secure Flock server for 30 days. In the event of criminal activity, images can be viewed and downloaded to aid police investigations and provide evidence. We believe they also serve as a powerful deterrent to illegal activity.

The LPRs utilize sophisticated technology that not only seeks, reads and records the license plate numbers on vehicles entering Pine Hills but also photographs and records their type, color and make.  They also determine how often a particular license plate has entered the community within the last 30 days and at which entrance – a feature which helps us distinguish between neighbors from outsiders.

Who Has Access

Other than the police, only a select few, fully-trained PHNA board members on the PHNA Security committee can access these cameras and assist with investigations.   

How to Request Camera Related Assistance

If you are a victim of a crime or observe suspicious activity, first call 911 and then call the Pine Hills Security Patrol cell number at 404-788-2248.  As a follow up, please contact us directly at: security@mypinehills.org and we will follow up with you to determine if camera footage would be helpful in solving a crime or otherwise useful. 

The Police “Hot List”

Our LPR cameras are now linked with both the Atlanta and Brookhaven Police Departments’ “Hot Lists.”  These lists include license plates associated with crimes and wanted individuals and our cameras alert the police whenever such a license plate is detected in Pine Hills. These alerts are also sent directly to police department patrol vehicles, allowing for a quick police response.

Join Our “Pine Hills Home Security Camera Team”

Pine Hills Security is seeking volunteers to participate in a new camera related security initiative – the Pine Hills Home Camera Security Team. Our LPR cameras are most effective when information from other sources is available in combination to feed into a data base search. We are setting up a team of homeowners with exterior video cameras who we can contact when incidents occur in their area to see if their cameras picked up any useful information. Team members are not be asked to regularly check their cameras for general activity or to otherwise spend a lot of time on this.  Instead, we will reach out seeking only targeted information regarding specific events at specific times and locations. You do not have to be a Security Program Member to be on this team.

License plate tag details combined with visual context of activity via home video footage provide extremely powerful evidence for solving/proving criminal activity in police investigations.  For example, a video camera records a dark SUV leaving the scene of a burglary at a neighboring home–with that information, we can search the camera server and provide the police with the license plate number and color of all SUVs entering Pine Hills during the relevant time frame. By joining you can help make a difference.

Just this year, we were able to provide the police with the license number of vehicles involved in the following crimes in Pine Hills: multiple car break-ins at various locations by the same armed criminals; a home burglary on Ferncliff Place; and a strong arm drive-by robbery/assault on West Roxboro. Arrests followed in all those cases.

Please help keep Pine Hills safe and join the Team by sending your name, address, and phone number to security@mypinehills.org.