Cameras

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To Emerald Forest Residents:

Camera and solar panel

The Emerald Forest Home Owners Association has partnered with Flock Safety, an Atlanta, GA based company that specializes in neighborhood safety through the use of license plate reading cameras. The camera is entirely self-sufficient in that it is solar powered and sends its footage via mobile technology to a secure cloud-based storage that is maintained by Flock. The camera records footage but also has both day and night-time capability to read and record license plates that pass through our entrances. Several police departments across the country have started to add more license plate readers around their cities and encourage communities to do the same, you may have seen in the news that UCF has recently added cameras with license plate readers throughout their campuses. In fact, any stolen or otherwise wanted vehicle that passes by a Flock camera has the ability to send an automatic alert to the local Police Department. Beyond making arrests, Flock’s ultimate goal is to eliminate crime.

Privacy is also a top concern for the Board and Flock. Accordingly, the footage and data that is collected is automatically deleted after 30 days, is accessible only by limited members of the board and can be shared with other members of the community on an as-needed basis in the event of a crime. In the event of a crime, footage can be downloaded and stored by either the community or local authorities. 

Despite this technology, it is just a camera. The #1 way to deter crime is a responsibility we each own individually;  lock your doors and keep your valuables out of sight. But, having video camera/ surveillance has been shown to deter mischief activity and also provides a valuable resource to help solve any crimes that may take place.  We are fortunate to live in such a safe neighborhood, but we believe that this service will both further deter mischief crimes and provide a valuable resource to our residents.

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO:

1)  Flock and their partners in law enforcement have asked each neighbor to register on the “Safe List” they have established for our community. You don’t need to give your actual name if you prefer, but by registering your license plate the police will know that your vehicle belongs to a resident and it will make sorting through data much faster in the event they need to research a criminal event that we report. You can add any vehicle that you own or that frequently visits your home. The link to their secured site is: SAFELIST LINK

2) If you are the victim of a crime please report it first to the police department  – — – CALL 911.  Then, you can send an email to crime@flocksafety.com, and the Board Board@EmeraldForesthoa.com and we can help provide footage reports and pictures for the relevant times that the evil-doer may have entered and exited the neighborhood.

3) Lock your house and car doors and keep your valuables out of sight.

4) Wave and smile to your neighbors, hug a board member, register for a community event, and continue to make Emerald Forest an incredible place to live.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to the board email: Board@EmeraldForesthoa.com.

Emerald Forest – Flock Camera Policy

Emerald Forest Home Owners Association has partnered with Flock Safety, a national neighborhood security provider, to deploy outdoor cameras in our neighborhood that tracks cars and reads license plates. License plates are the #1 piece of evidence police request in the case of criminal activity, like home and car break-ins. 

The Board of Directors adopts the following policy for the handling of footage captured by the cameras:

  • Footage from Flock Safety cameras will not be actively monitored by the Board.
  • The Board of Directors or their designated agent may review footage from the Flock Safety camera(s) if there is complaint of potential illegal activity in the neighborhood.
  • Footage from Flock Safety cameras will be stored in the cloud (Amazon Web Services) for a rolling period of 30 days. In the event of illegal activity, footage can be downloaded for extended storage.
  • Permanent access to footage from Flock Safety cameras will be limited to the Board or their designated agent. Temporary footage access may be granted to residents of the community or law enforcement if they submit a written request to the Board that includes the following information:
    • Police report number
    • Timeframe of incident
    • Description of incident
  • Residents are encouraged to add their information to the Safe List so that any footage of their vehicle will be marked as “Resident.”

Warnings

The existence of Flock Safety cameras should NOT be relied upon by any individual for safety or security. Individuals are encouraged to take additional precautions to ensure the safety of their property.

Emerald Forest Home Owners association and Flock Safety are NOT law enforcement agencies and are not in a position to undertake law enforcement activities. Any illegal activity should be reported to law enforcement immediately for investigation.