Bay County
County record. Includes every city and agency within Bay 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
Bay County Sheriff's Office
The Bay County Sheriff's Office purchased an automated license plate reader system in 2020.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): mypanhandle
The Bay County Sheriff's Office uses body-worn cameras, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's 2019 Criminal Justice Agency Profile Report.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Florida Department of Law Enforcement
Several Bay County law enforcement agencies share a Fusus camera registry system.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Connect Bay County
The Bay County Sheriff's Office operates three DJI drones as of 2018, 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 CollegeFlorida Sheriffs Associationwww.governing.com
The Bay County Sheriff's Office is one of more than 275 law enforcement agencies with access to the Face Analysis Comparison & Examination System (FACES), a face recognition program maintained by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. Investigators may upload an image to search more than 25-million Florida driver's license photos and mugshots.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Orlando SentinelCenter on Privacy & Technology at Georgetown LawPinellas County Sheriff's Office
The Bay County Sheriff's Office operates the Bay Real Time Operatiojns Center or BayROC.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): WJHGNews Herald
Lynn Haven Police Department
The Lynn Haven Police Department has used automated license plate readers since September 2020.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): mypanhandle
The Lynn Haven Police Department uses body-worn cameras, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's 2019 Criminal Justice Agency Profile Report.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Florida Department of Law Enforcement
Several Bay County law enforcement agencies share a Fusus camera registry system.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Connect Bay County
The Lynn Haven Police Department uses drones.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Florida SenateLynn Haven Police Department FacebookFoster Folly News
The Lynn Haven Police Department is one of more than 275 law enforcement agencies with access to the Face Analysis Comparison & Examination System (FACES), a face recognition program maintained by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. Investigators may upload an image to search more than 25-million Florida driver's license photos and mugshots.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Orlando SentinelCenter on Privacy & Technology at Georgetown LawPinellas County Sheriff's Office
Panama City Beach Police Department
The Panama City Beach Police Department purchased 10 automated license plate readers from Flock Safety in 2021.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Panama City Beach
The Panama City Beach Police Department purchased 60 body-worn cameras for $268,000 in 2020.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Panama City Beach Police DepartmentWSFUWild Willie 100.1 Facebook page.
Several Bay County law enforcement agencies share a Fusus camera registry system.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Connect Bay County
The Panama City Beach Police Department has been using drones since atleast 2019.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Florida SenateGoverning
The Panama City Beach Police Department is one of more than 275 law enforcement agencies with access to the Face Analysis Comparison & Examination System (FACES), a face recognition program maintained by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. Investigators may upload an image to search more than 25-million Florida driver's license photos and mugshots.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Orlando SentinelCenter on Privacy & Technology at Georgetown LawPinellas County Sheriff's Office
Panama City Police Department
The Panama City Police Department operates 65 Flock Safety automated license plate readers as of September 2025.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Pittsboro Police Department
Several Bay County law enforcement agencies share a Fusus camera registry system.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Connect Bay County
The Panama City Police Department is one of more than 275 law enforcement agencies with access to the Face Analysis Comparison & Examination System (FACES), a face recognition program maintained by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. Investigators may upload an image to search more than 25-million Florida driver's license photos and mugshots.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Orlando SentinelCenter on Privacy & Technology at Georgetown LawPinellas County Sheriff's Office
Parker Police Department
The Parker Police Department uses body-worn cameras, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's 2019 Criminal Justice Agency Profile Report.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Florida Department of Law Enforcement
Several Bay County law enforcement agencies share a Fusus camera registry system.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Connect Bay County
The Parker Police Department is one of more than 275 law enforcement agencies with access to the Face Analysis Comparison & Examination System (FACES), a face recognition program maintained by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. Investigators may upload an image to search more than 25-million Florida driver's license photos and mugshots.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Orlando SentinelCenter on Privacy & Technology at Georgetown LawPinellas County Sheriff's Office
Springfield Police Department
The Springfield Police Department uses body-worn cameras, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's 2019 Criminal Justice Agency Profile Report.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Florida Department of Law Enforcement
Several Bay County law enforcement agencies share a Fusus camera registry system.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Connect Bay CountyFusus
The Springfield Police Department has been using drones since at least 2020.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Florida Senate
Bay District Schools Police Department
Several Bay County law enforcement agencies share a Fusus camera registry system.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Connect Bay County
Source: EFF Atlas of Surveillance (Electronic Frontier Foundation & University of Nevada, Reno — Reynolds School of Journalism) · CC BY 4.0 · retrieved July 2026
In the press
Coverage naming Bay County or a jurisdiction within it.
| Jul 19, 2022 | 'Eye in the sky': Bay law enforcement using cameras, other tech to monitor crime in real time - Panama City News Herald |