Pinellas County
County record. Includes every city and agency within Pinellas 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
Pinellas County Sheriff's Office
The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office has 30 automated license plate readers as of 2018.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): 10 News
The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office purchased Axon body-worn cameras for 850 deputies in 2021.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): news
The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office uses drones.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Florida Sheriffs Association
The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office maintains the Face Analysis Comparison & Examination System (FACES), a face recognition program accessed by more than 275 law enforcement agencies. 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
Clearwater Police Department
The Clearwater Police Deparmtent has four automated license plate readers as of 2018.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): 10 News
The Clearwater Police Department entered a $2.2 million, five-year contract for 200 Axon Body 3 body-worn cameras and related services in 2020.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): 8/6/2020@clearwaterpolice Instagram
Clearwater Police Department uses the Fusus camera registry system.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): 404 Media
The Clearwater Police Department operates one drone as of 2017, 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 Senatewww.faa.gov
The Clearwater 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
The Clearwater Police Department operates a real-time crime center. The agency received $326,201 from the City of Clearwater for hardware and software by Millennium Products in 2020.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): City of Clearwater youtube channelCity of ClearwaterTBN Weekly
Largo Police Department
As of April 2024, the Largo Police Department operates two Flock Safety automated license plate readers. The agency stores ALPR data for 365 days.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Flock SafetyThe News & ObserverThe News & Observer
The Largo Police Department received a $230,000 Bureau of Justice Assistance grant in 2022 to purchase 157 body-worn cameras.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): US Bureau of Justice Assistance
The Largo Police Department utilizes drones.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): FacebookCity of Largo
The Largo 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
St. Petersburg Police Department
The St. Petersburg Police Department has installed 25 Flock Safety automated license plate readers.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): St. Petersburg Police 2022 Annual Report
The St. Petersburg Police Department uses body-worn cameras.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): St. Petersburg Police 2022 Annual Report
The St. Petersburg Police Department operates one drone as of 2017, 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 Senatewww.faa.gov
Gulfport Police Department
The Gulfport 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
The Gulfport 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
Pinellas Park Police Department
The Pinellas Park Police Department installed Flock Safety automated license plate readers. in July 2020.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Bay News 9
The Pinellas Park 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
Saint Petersburg Police Department
The St. Petersburg Police Department uses FACESNXT's face recognition technology.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): St. Petersburg Police 2022 Annual Report
The St. Petersburg 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
Seminole Police Department
The U.S. Department of Justice awarded $306,000 to the Seminole Police Department 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 Justiceseminoletribune.orgwww.orlandosentinel.com
The Seminole 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
Tarpon Springs Police Department
The Tarpon Springs Police Department uses Flock Safety automated license plate readers.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Tarpon Springs
The Tarpon Springs 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
Treasure Island Police Department
The Treasure Island Police Department operates six Flock Safety automated license plate readers as of September 2025.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Pittsboro Police Department
The Treasure Island Police purchased a drone with a $2,000 donation in 2019.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Florida SenateCity of Treasure Island NextDoor
Indian Shores Police Department
The Indian Shores Police Department has been using drones since at least 2020.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Florida Senate
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 Pinellas County or a jurisdiction within it.