Marin County
County record. Includes every city and agency within Marin 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
Central Marin Police Authority
The Central Marin Police Authority's previous stationary and mobile automated license plate readers. However, as of August 2024, the agency was switching to Flock Safety ALPR systems.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Central Marin Police AuthorityCalifornia State Auditor
Novato Police Department
As of April 2024, the Novato Police Department operates six Flock Safety automated license plate readers. The agency stores ALPR data for 30 days.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Flock SafetyThe News & ObserverThe News & Observer
Novato Police Department began using 45 body-worn cameras in 2014.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): PatchNovato Police Department Facebook
The Novato Police Department maintains a voluntary registry of private and personal surveillance cameras.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): City of Novato
San Rafael Police Department
As of April 2024, the San Rafael Police Department operates 15 Flock Safety automated license plate readers. The agency stores ALPR data for 30 days.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Flock SafetyThe News & ObserverThe News & Observer
The San Rafael Police Department has used body-worn cameras since 2014.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): San Rafael Police Facebook pageABC 7
The San Rafael Police Department maintains a voluntary registry of private and personal surveillance cameras.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): San Rafael Police Department
Marin County Sheriff's Department
The Marin County Sheriff's Office operated drones as of 2024.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Marin County Sheriff's OfficeMarin County Sheriff's OfficeCenter for the Study of the Drone at Bard College
The Marin County Sheriff's Office signed a two-year, $198,650 contract with Flock Safety in December 2023. The agency planned to install 31 automated license plate readers in nine different locations across the county. They have also used Motorola Solutions (formerly Vigilant Solutions) ALPRs.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Pacific SunMarin County Sheriff's OfficeCalifornia State Auditor
Mill Valley Police Department
The Mill Valley Police Department operates automated license plate readers.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Mill Valley Police DepartmentCity of Mill Valley
Sausalito Police Department
Sausalito Police Department Officers and Parking Enforcement/Community Service officers use body-worn cameras
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Marin Independent JournalSausalito Police Department
The Sausalito Police Department uses Motorola Solutions (formerly Vigilant Solutions) automated license plate readers.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Sausalito Police DepartmentMuckRockCalifornia State Auditor
The Sausalito Police Department maintains a voluntary registry of private and personal surveillance cameras.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): City of Sausalito
Tiburon Police Department
The Tiburon Police Department collected more than 6,000,000 vehicle scans in 2022 using automated license plate readers.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Tiburon Police DepartmentMuckRockCalifornia State Auditor
The Tiburon Police Department operates one drone, according to data compiled by the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard Collegewww.townoftiburon.org
The Tiburon Police Department uses body-worn cameras.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Marin Independent Journal
The Tiburon Police Department maintains a voluntary registry of private and personal surveillance cameras.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Town of Tiburon
Belvedere Police Department
The Belvedere Police Department collected more than 1,000,000 vehicle scans in 2022 using automated license plate readers.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Belvedere Police DepartmentCalifornia State Auditor
Marin Community College District Police Department
The Marin Community College District Police Department uses automated license plate readers.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Marin Community College District Police Department
The Marin Community College District Police Department uses body-worn cameras.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Marin Community College District Police Department
Source: EFF Atlas of Surveillance (Electronic Frontier Foundation & University of Nevada, Reno — Reynolds School of Journalism) · CC BY 4.0 · retrieved July 2026