Monterey County
County record. Includes every city and agency within Monterey 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
Greenfield Police Department
The Greenfield Police Department launched a drone as first responder program in 2025.
The Greenfield Police Department maintains a voluntary registry of private and personal surveillance cameras through Motorola Solutions' CityProtect platform.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): CityProtect
Soledad Police Department
The Soledad Police Department operates six Flock Safety automated license plate readers. The agency entered a five-year contract with Flock Safety in 2024 to install eight additional automated license plate readers throughout the city.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Salinas Valley TribuneKSBWKION
The Soledad Police Department has been using body-worn cameras since at least 2016.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): KSBW Action News 8The CalifornianSoledad Police Department
Seaside Police Department
As of April 2024, the Seaside Police Department operates 24 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 Seaside Police Deppartment installed 25 Flock Safety automated license plate readers in 2023, which includes gunshot detection technology.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Monterey County Weekly
The Seaside Police Department launched a camera registry in 2020.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): KSBW
The Seaside Police Department purchased a 5-year contract for 40 Axon body-worn cameras in 2017.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): KSBW8Seaside Police Department
Pacific Grove Police Department
As of April 2024, the Pacific Grove Police Department operates 11 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
Pacific Grove Police department implemented a new body-worn camera system in 2019.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Pacific Grove City CouncilPacific Grove Police Department Facebook
The Pacific Grove Police Department maintains a voluntary registry of private and personal surveillance cameras through Motorola Solutions' CityProtect platform.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Pacific Grove Police DepartmentKSBW
Carmel Police Department
As of April 2024, the Carmel Police Department operates 17 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 Carmel Police Department maintains a registry of surveillance cameras voluntarily submitted by local residents and businesses.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Carmel Police Department
Monterey Police Department
The Monterey Police Department received city council approval for the purchase and installation of Flock Safety automated license plate readers in April 2024.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Have Your Say MontereyHave Your Say MontereyKSBW
The Monterey Police Department began using PredPol (now Geolitica) predictive policing software sometime between 2015 and 2017.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): City of Monterey adopted budget pg 81
Monterey County Sheriff's Department
The Monterey County Sheriff's Office operated 10 drones as of 2023.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Monterey County Sheriff's OfficeMonterey County Sheriff's OfficeCenter for the Study of the Drone at Bard College
The Monterey County Sheriff's Office maintains a voluntary registry of private and personal surveillance cameras through Motorola Solutions' CityProtect platform.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): CityProtect
Kings County Sheriff's Department
The Kings County Sheriff's Office purchased six Flock Safety Falcon automated license plate readers in June 2021.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): MuckRock
Salinas Police Department
The Salinas Police Department uses drones.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Salina Police DepartmentSalinas Police Department
The Salinas Police Department deploys eight vehicle-mounted automated license plate readers.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Salinas Police DepartmentSalina Police DepartmentKION
The Salinas Police Department acquired Axon body-worn cameras in 2014.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Salinas Police departmentThe Californian
The Salinas Police Department started using ShotSpotter gunshot detection technology in 2015.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): KSBW8Salinas Police Department website. Where I simply searched ShotSpotter.shotspotter.com
Marina Police Department
The Marina Police Department purchased and was trained on Motorola radios and body cameras in 2018.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): City of Marina Proposed 2019-20 Fiscal Year BudgetMarina Police Department Policy Manual
California State University, Monterey Bay Police Department
The 2021 Policy Manual states that "BWC equipment will be issued to all peace officers at the rank of sergeant and below." The Manual also refers to a "TASER® CAM™", suggesting the use of Axon equipment.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): CSU Monterey Bay University Police Policy ManualCalifornia State University Chancellor's ReportKION-TV
Sand City Police Department
The Sand City Police Department uses WatchGuard body-worn cameras.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Sand City City HallSand City Police Department FacebookSand City Police
Cal State Monterey University Police Department
The Cal State Monterey University Police Department operates one DJI Phantom drone as of 2015, 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 Collegeregistry.faa.gov
Source: EFF Atlas of Surveillance (Electronic Frontier Foundation & University of Nevada, Reno — Reynolds School of Journalism) · CC BY 4.0 · retrieved July 2026