WatchWatch · United States · California · San Diego

County record · California

San Diego County

42 Deployments on record
22 Agencies
7 Technology categories

Technology presence

ALPR · 13 Fixed cameras & RTCC · 1 Face recognition · none on record Drones / UAS · 9 Gunshot detection · 1 Body-worn & dashcam · 16 Doorbell & camera registry · 1 Cell-site simulators · 1 Predictive policing · none on record Social-media monitoring · none on record

The record, by agency

San Diego Police Department

San Diego · 4 deployments · on UnGovr: City of San Diego

ALPR Vendor: Flock Safety, Ubicquia Inc.

The San Diego Police installed Ubicquia surveillance-equipped streetlights and Flock Safety automated license plate readers in July 2024. As of April 2024, the San Diego Police Department operates 528 Flock Safety ALPRs and stores ALPR data for 30 days.

Body-worn & dashcam Vendor: Axon

The San Diego Police Department uses Axon body-worn cameras.

Cell-site simulators

The San Diego Police Department acquired cell-site simulator technology in 2010, according data compiled by Kevin Collier for Vocativ.

Drones / UAS Vendor: Aardvark, Acecore Technologies, Brinc, DJI, Fotokite, Parrot, Shield A.I., Skydio, Teledyne

The San Diego Police Department operated 29 drones as of 2023.

Carlsbad Police Department

Carlsbad · 3 deployments · on UnGovr: City of Carlsbad

ALPR Vendor: Motorola Solutions

The Carlsbad Police Department collected more than 71,000,000 vehicle scans in 2022 using automated license plate readers.

Body-worn & dashcam

The Carlsbad Police Department launched its body-worn camera program in 2016.

Drones / UAS

The Carlsbad Police Department operates one drone, according to data compiled by the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College.

Chula Vista Police Department

Chula Vista · 3 deployments · on UnGovr: City of Chula Vista

ALPR Vendor: Flock Safety, Motorola Solutions

The Chula Vista Police Department has been using automated license plate readers since 2007.

Drones / UAS Vendor: DJI, Parrot, Skydio

The Chula Vista Police Department operates a Drone as First Responder (DFR) program.

Fixed cameras & RTCC Vendor: Motorola Solutions

Chula Vista was building a real-time crime center as of September 2021.

El Cajon Police Department

El Cajon · 3 deployments · on UnGovr: City of El Cajon

ALPR Vendor: Flock Safety

As of April 2024, the El Cajon Police Department operates 40 Flock Safety automated license plate readers. The agency stores ALPR data for 30 days.

Body-worn & dashcam Vendor: Axon

The El Cajon Police Department launched its body-worn camera program in 2016 with the purchase of 87 Axon cameras for about $160,000.

Drones / UAS Vendor: DJI

The El Cajon Police Department operated drones as of 2024.

Escondido Police Department

Escondido · 3 deployments · on UnGovr: City of Escondido

ALPR Vendor: Motorola Solutions

The Escondido Police Department collected more than 3,000,000 vehicle scans in 2022 using automated license plate readers.

Body-worn & dashcam Vendor: Axon

The Escondido Police Department has body-worn cameras since 2010. In June 2019, the Escondido City Council approved a 3-year, $405,000 contract with Axon for 166 cameras.

Drones / UAS Vendor: DJI

The Escondido Police Department operated DJI drones as of 2024.

National City Police Department

National City · 3 deployments · on UnGovr: National City

ALPR Vendor: Flock Safety

The National City Police Department received funding from California's Organized Retail Theft Prevention Grant Program in 2023 for Flock Safety automated license plate readers.

Body-worn & dashcam Vendor: Axon

All uniformed National City Police officers were outfitted with body-worn cameras in 2016.

Drones / UAS Vendor: DJI, Sky-Hero

The National City Police Department operated four drones as of 2023.

Oceanside Police Department

Oceanside · 3 deployments · on UnGovr: City of Oceanside

ALPR

The Oceanside Police Department began using automated license plate readers in May of 2015.

Body-worn & dashcam Vendor: Axon

The Oceanside City Council spent $1,890,000 on a 5-year contract in 2020 with Axon for 225 body-worn cameras for 228 sworn officers.

Drones / UAS Vendor: DJI, Autel Robotics, Parrot

The Oceanside Police Department operated 15 drones as of 2024.

San Diego County Sheriff's Department

San Diego · 3 deployments · on UnGovr: San Diego County

ALPR

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department operates automated license plate readers.

Body-worn & dashcam Vendor: Axon

The San Diego Sheriff's Department owned 1,348 Axon body-worn cameras as of December 2018. The agency received approval for a $1.1 million budget request to purchase the equipment in April 2019.

Drones / UAS Vendor: DJI, Autel Robotics

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department operated 54 drones as of 2023

Coronado Police Department

Coronado · 2 deployments · on UnGovr: City of Coronado

ALPR Vendor: Flock Safety

As of April 2024, the Coronado Police Department operates two Flock Safety automated license plate readers. The agency stores ALPR data for 365 days.

Body-worn & dashcam

In 2012, the Coronado Police Department became the first law enforcement agency in San Diego County to adopt body-worn cameras.

La Mesa Police Department

La Mesa · 2 deployments · on UnGovr: City of La Mesa

ALPR Vendor: Flock Safety, Vigilant Solutions

The La Mesa Police Department operates Flock Safety and Motorola Solutions (formerly Vigilant Solutions) automated license plate readers.

Body-worn & dashcam

The La Mesa Police Department began testing body-worn cameras in 2018. As of September 2019, images posted on Facebook show that officers are indeed wearing BWCs.

San Diego State University Police Department

San Diego · 2 deployments

ALPR

The San Diego State University Police Department uses automated license plate readers.

Body-worn & dashcam

The San Diego State University Police Department uses body-worn cameras. The agency uses the same policy as the rest of the California State University police departments.

California State University San Marcos Police Department

San Marcos · 1 deployment

Body-worn & dashcam Vendor: Axon

California State University San Marcos Police Department issues Axon body-worn cameras to all uniformed officers.

La Jolla Tribal Police Department

Pauma Valley · 1 deployment

Body-worn & dashcam Vendor: Wolfcom

The La Jolla Tribal Police Department uses Wolfcom body-worn cameras, according to a testimonial on the company's website.

MiraCosta College Police Department

Oceanside · 1 deployment · on UnGovr: MiraCosta College

Body-worn & dashcam Vendor: Axon

The MiraCosta College Police Department uses Axon body-worn cameras

Palomar College Police Department

San Marcos · 1 deployment · on UnGovr: Palomar College

ALPR

The Palomar College Police Department began using automated license plate readers on two patrol cars in 2019.

San Diego Community College District Police

San Diego · 1 deployment · on UnGovr: San Diego Community College District

Body-worn & dashcam

The San Diego Community College District, including Saddleback Community College, uses body-worn cameras.

San Diego County Sheriff’s Department

San Diego · 1 deployment

Doorbell & camera registry

The San Diego Sheriff’s Department has had a camera registry since at least 2019.

San Diego Harbor Police Department

San Diego · 1 deployment

Drones / UAS Vendor: DJI, Loki, Parrot

The San Diego Harbor Police Department operated 21 drones as of 2023.

Southwestern Community College Police Department

Chula Vista · 1 deployment

Body-worn & dashcam

Southwestern Community College Police Department uses body-worn cameras.

University of California San Diego Police Department

San Diego · 1 deployment

Gunshot detection Vendor: ShotSpotter

The University of California San Diego Police Department installed ShotSpotter gunshot detection technology on campus in 2017. The initial installation cost $46,000, with a recurring annual fee of $71,000.

University of California San Diego Transportation Services

San Diego · 1 deployment

ALPR Vendor: Park Assist

The University of California San Diego has used automated license plate readers since at least 2019 for parking enforcement.

University of California, San Diego Police Department

San Diego · 1 deployment

Body-worn & dashcam Vendor: WatchGuard

University of California, San Diego Police Department has equipped its officers with WatchGuard body-worn cameras.

Source: EFF Atlas of Surveillance (Electronic Frontier Foundation & University of Nevada, Reno — Reynolds School of Journalism) · CC BY 4.0 · retrieved July 2026