United Cerebral Palsy of the North Bay

Key Outcomes

• 50% reduction in repeat intrusion attempts in the first three months

• Multiple thefts prevented through live audio deterrence and professional monitoring

• Incident footage retrieved in under two minutes, supporting faster investigations and successful prosecutions with AI-powered and history player search

Background

For the United Cerebral Palsy Foundation of the North Bay (UCPNB), safety is not just a checkbox—it’s a responsibility to protect the people, programs, and resources that serve their community. This nonprofit provides essential services for children and adults with cerebral palsy and other disabilities across Sonoma, Napa, and Solano Counties. 

In addition to their employment and community-based programs, UCPNB operates three thrift stores that provide meaningful job opportunities for adults with disabilities. These stores rely on generous donations of clothing and household items from the community to operate successfully and fund critical programs.

Unfortunately, theft at their donation sites had become a nightly occurrence, threatening both the organization’s revenue and the safety of staff and donors. To address this ongoing issue and protect their mission-driven operations, UCPNB turned to Verkada’s intelligent security solutions.

The Challenge

While UCPNB’s focus has always been on fostering independence and inclusion, recurring theft and slow incident response were pulling attention away from its mission. The existing NVR-based system was cumbersome, slow to retrieve footage from, and lacked real-time visibility. Staff couldn’t monitor sites remotely, meaning incidents often went unnoticed until long after they occurred.

“Security had become more of a burden than a safeguard,” Christina recalls. “We were dealing with theft almost every night at our donation locations until we installed Verkada cameras.”

The Solution

As Director of Administration, Christina knew UCPNB needed a scalable, modern solution that could stop incidents before they escalated. She partnered with Assure MSP, a trusted Verkada reseller, to assess the nonprofit’s needs and deploy a system focused on prevention rather than reaction.

Together, they implemented Verkada’s cloud-based security platform, integrating video surveillance, professional monitoring, and live audio deterrents into a single, easy-to-manage interface.

Stopping Intrusions Before They Happen

One of Christina’s first moves was installing BZ11 horn speaker at vulnerable sites. This gave both remote staff and professional monitoring agents the ability to deliver live verbal warnings the moment suspicious activity was detected.

The results were immediate:

• 50% reduction in repeat intrusion attempts within three months

• Stronger safeguards for staff and clients

• Increased accountability across multiple service locations

“Being able to address someone in real time, without even being on-site, changed the game for us,” Christina says.

Rapid Intervention with Video Alarms

Christina also implemented Verkada’s Video Alarms, a software-first alarm system that turns cameras into AI-powered sensors for precise, video-verified alerts. She defined custom triggers—such as after-hours motion or activity in restricted areas—and tested them against historical footage to minimize false alarms.

When a trigger event occurs, Verkada’s 24/7 professional monitoring team:

• Video-verifies the incident

• Calls designated UCPNB contacts

• Uses the talkdown horn to deter intruders

• Requests police dispatch when necessary

In several cases, these real-time interventions interrupted theft attempts and led to suspect apprehensions, restoring staff confidence in security protocols. Each alarm event also produces a detailed Command log—listing the triggered camera, actions taken, and a transcript of all calls—for transparency and accountability.

From Hours to Minutes: Smarter Investigations

Verkada’s AI-powered search and customizable alerts replaced hours of manual video review with results in minutes. Christina’s team can filter people by attributes like clothing color, search for vehicles by license plate, or set up Person of Interest profiles to instantly recognize repeat offenders.

With AI-powered alerts, they can even receive notifications for specific scenarios—like “person loitering near side entrance after hours”—so security can respond before a situation escalates.

For UCPNB, this means:

• Incident footage located and shared in under two minutes

• Real-time alerts for suspicious activity

• Faster identification of repeat offenders

“Instead of reacting to what already happened, we now get alerted to events as they’re unfolding,” Christina explains.

AI-powered search also pairs with history player search to turn scattered clips into a single, chronological story. Staff find the first sighting (e.g., “person in black hoodie after hours”), click the subject in the frame, and Command compiles every appearance across cameras. The result: incident footage located, stitched, and shared in under two minutes—with a clean timeline that speeds decisions and prosecutions.

Everything in One Place: Streamlined Footage Management

From any browser or mobile device, Christina’s team can securely access live and recorded footage, export MP4 clips with authenticity verification, and share live links with first responders.

The Incident Management System consolidates all relevant footage, stills, and notes into one organized record, making it easy to:

• Search across all cameras using AI-powered detection

• Pull high-quality images of individuals or vehicles

• Combine multiple clips into a single narrative

• Control sharing permissions and maintain audit logs

This streamlined workflow has cut investigation times to under two minutes and improved collaboration with law enforcement, insurance providers, and internal teams.

Built to Scale with the Mission

Verkada’s hybrid cloud cameras store up to 365 days of continuous footage locally while archiving to the cloud for unlimited retention—eliminating the need for NVRs or DVRs. Cameras come online in minutes with just a PoE connection, and new devices or sites can be added without complicating management.

From Command, Christina can:

• Manage all cameras, alarms, and access points in one dashboard

• Assign granular user permissions

• Integrate with SAML-based SSO for secure logins

• Receive real-time health alerts if a device goes offline

Because Verkada continuously updates its platform with new AI features, UCPNB’s system will stay current without costly hardware replacements.

“It’s a platform that works for us now and will still work years from now as we add more sites,” Christina says. “We can grow without starting over.”

Thanks to Christina’s leadership, Verkada’s technology, and the expertise of Assure MSP, UCPNB now operates a proactive security system that prevents incidents, accelerates investigations, and scales with their mission to serve the North Bay community.