Jefferson County
County record. Includes every city and agency within Jefferson County.
Technology presence
What these categories mean
- ALPR
- Automated license plate readers (ALPR): camera systems that automatically capture, read, and log vehicle license plates with location and time, producing a searchable record of vehicle movements.
- Fixed cameras & RTCC
- Agency-operated fixed video cameras and the real-time crime centers (RTCC) that aggregate live and recorded feeds for monitoring. Extends the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Atlas, which enumerates real-time crime centers and camera registries but not standalone fixed-camera estates.
- Face recognition
- Software that matches faces in images or video against a reference database to identify or verify individuals.
- Drones / UAS
- Uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), commonly called drones, operated by an agency for overhead observation, imaging, or sensing.
- Gunshot detection
- Networks of acoustic sensors that detect and locate suspected gunfire and alert an agency.
- Body-worn & dashcam
- Officer body-worn and in-vehicle dashboard cameras that record encounters; public access to the footage is frequently restricted.
- Doorbell & camera registry
- Programs that give an agency access to privately owned camera footage: doorbell-camera partnerships, citizen camera registries, and private-camera integration platforms.
- Cell-site simulators
- Devices that mimic cell towers to locate or identify nearby mobile phones. They are often called Stingrays, or IMSI catchers after the international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) number that identifies each phone on a network. Adjacent: communications surveillance outside the visual/sensor core.
- Predictive policing
- Software that forecasts where crime may occur or who may be involved, to direct policing. Adjacent: analytics rather than a sensing deployment.
- Social-media monitoring
- Tools that collect and analyze public social-media activity for an agency. Adjacent: open-source/communications monitoring outside the visual/sensor core.
The record, by agency
Fultondale Police Department
The Fultondale Police Department operates 17 Flock Safety automated license plate readers as of September 2025.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Pittsboro Police Department
The Fultondale Police Department maintains a voluntary registry of private and personal surveillance cameras.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): City of Fultondale
Gardendale Police Department
The Gardendale Police Department operates 15 Flock Safety automated license plate readers as of September 2025.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Pittsboro Police Department
The Gardendale Police Department acquired Axon body-worn cameras in 2019.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): The North Jefferson News
Mountain Brook Police Department
The Mountain Brook Police Department operates 41 Flock Safety automated license plate readers as of September 2025.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Pittsboro Police Department
The Mountain Brook Police Department operated drones as of 2023.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): WBMACenter for the Study of the Drone at Bard Collegewww.faa.gov
Tarrant Police Department
The Tarrant Police Department operates six Flock Safety automated license plate readers as of September 2025.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Pittsboro Police Department
The Tarrant Police Department has installed 32 Raven gunshot detection devices from Flock Safety as of September 2025.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Pittsboro Police Department
Warrior Police Department
The Warrior Police Department operates six Flock Safety automated license plate readers as of September 2025.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Pittsboro Police Department
Brighton Police Department
The Brighton Police Department operates three Flock Safety automated license plate readers as of September 2025.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Pittsboro Police Department
Fairfield Police Department
The Fairfield Police Department operates three Flock Safety automated license plate readers as of September 2025.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Pittsboro Police Department
Hueytown Police Department
The Hueytown Police Department operates 10 Flock Safety automated license plate readers as of September 2025.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Pittsboro Police Department
Kimberly Police Department
The Kimberly Police Department operates six Flock Safety automated license plate readers as of September 2025.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Pittsboro Police Department
Leeds Police Department
The Leeds Police Department operates 18 Flock Safety automated license plate readers as of September 2025.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Pittsboro Police Department
Midfield Police Department
The Midfield Police Department operates seven Flock Safety automated license plate readers as of September 2025.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Pittsboro Police Department
University Of Alabama Birmingham Police Department
The University Of Alabama Birmingham Police Department operates 16 Flock Safety automated license plate readers as of September 2025.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Pittsboro Police Department
Vestavia Hills Police Department
The Vestavia Hills Police Department operates 14 Flock Safety automated license plate readers as of September 2025.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Pittsboro Police Department
Birmingham Police Department
The Birmingham Police Department bought its first drone in 2023 and launched a drone as first responder pilot program in 2025.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): ABC3340C&G Newspapers
The Birmingham Police Department began installing Flock Safety automated license plate readers in 2018 and expanded the program in 2020.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): CBS 42Trussville TribuneABC 33-40
In 2019, the Birmingham Police Department renewed a three-year contract for $2.6 million with ShotSpotter for gunshot detection technology.
The Birmingham Police Department uses PredPol (now Geolitica) predictive policing software.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): WBRC
The Birmingham Police Department received city council approval to spend $1.5 million on its real-time crime center in May 2019. The RTCC has a camera network, including a pilot program with Alabama Power for 95 surveillance cameras around the city—each outfitted gunshot detection sensors. Police also use automated license plate readers.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Birmingham TimesAL.com6 WBRC
The U.S. Department of Justice awarded $576,000 to the Birmingham Police Department from 2016-2019 as part of the Bureau of Justice Assistance's body-worn camera grant program.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): U.S Department of JusticeU.S Department of Justicewww.al.com
The Birmingham Police Department maintains a camera registry via Axon.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Axon
Jefferson County Sheriff's Office
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office operated seven drones as of 2022.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): WBRCCenter for the Study of the Drone at Bard Collegeregistry.faa.gov
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office utilizes the Fusus camera registry.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Jefferson County Sheriff's OfficeWBRC
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office uses Flock Safety automated license plate readers.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): 6WBRCPatchTrussville Tribune
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office opened the Metro Area Crime Center in October 2016.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Jefferson County Sheriff's OfficeWAFF49
The U.S. Department of Justice awarded $702,000 to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office in 2018 as part of the Bureau of Justice Assistance's body-worn camera grant program.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): U.S Department of Justicewww.al.compatch.com
Jefferson County Sheriff's Department
According to reporting from The Markup, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department used PredPol (now Geolitica) between 02/23/18 and 01/26/21.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): The Markup
Homewood Police Department
According to reporting from The Markup, the Homewood Police Department used PredPol (now Geolitica) between 02/22/18 and 01/30/21.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): The Markup
The Homewood Police Department purchased a Flock Safety automated license plate reader system in November 2021 at an initial cost of $13,750 and a subsequent annual cost of $12,500.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Homewood Star
Trussville Police Department
The Trussville Police Department uses Flock Safety automated license plate readers and has encouraged local homeowner groups to similarly install ALPR systems.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Trussville TribuneTrussville Tribune
Pinson Department of Public Safety
The city of Pinson purchased 13 Flock Safety automated license plate readers in June 2020.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Trussville Tribune
Hoover Police Department
The Hoover Police Department operated drones as of 2016.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): WBRCHoover Police DepartmentCenter for the Study of the Drone at Bard College
Hoover Police Department has been utilizing body-worn cameras since at least 2015.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Hoover Police Department
The Hoover Police Department uses Vigilant Solutions automated license plate readers, according to a 2014 press release.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Vigilant Solutions
The Hoover Police Department maintains a camera registry via Axon.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Axon
Irondale Police Department
The Irondale Police Department acquired Flock automated license plate readers in 2019.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): WVTM13
Adamsville Police Department
The Adamsville Police Department began using Axon body-worn cameras in 2018.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): WVTM 13
Bessemer Police Department
The Bessemer Police Department uses Vigilant Solutions automated license plate readers, according to a 2014 press release
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Vigilant Solutions
The Bessemer Police Department received a $200,000 grant from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance award for its body-worn camera program in 2022.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Bureau of Justice Assistance, US Department of Justice
Source: EFF Atlas of Surveillance (Electronic Frontier Foundation & University of Nevada, Reno — Reynolds School of Journalism) · CC BY 4.0 · retrieved July 2026