McHenry County
County record. Includes every city and agency within McHenry 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
Crystal Lake Police Department
The Crystal Lake Police Department operates eight Flock Safety automated license plate readers as of September 2025.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Pittsboro Police Department
The Crystal Lake Police Department has 69 body-worn cameras as of 2024.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board
Johnsburg Police Department
The Johnsburg Police Department operates six Flock Safety automated license plate readers as of September 2025.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Pittsboro Police Department
Lake in the Hills Police Department
The Lake in the Hills Police Department has Flock Safety automated license plate readers.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Daily Herald
The Lake in the Hills Police Department has 43 Axon body-worn cameras as of 2024.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board
McHenry Police Department
As of April 2024, the McHenry Police Department operates Flock Safety automated license plate readers.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Flock SafetyThe News & ObserverThe News & Observer
The McHenry Police Department has one drone according to the 2024 Illinois Freedom from Drone Surveillance Act Report.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority
McHenry County Sheriff's Office
The McHenry County Sheriff's Office has 111 Axon body-worn cameras as of 2024.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Shaw Local NewsIllinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board
The McHenry County Sheriff's Office has two drones, according to the 2024 Illinois Freedom from Drone Surveillance Act Report. The agency conducted 24 drone flights between July 2023 and March 2024.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority
The McHenry County Sheriff's Office began using automated license plate readers in 2022.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Shaw Local News
Huntley Police Department
The Huntley Police Department has two drones, according to the 2024 Illinois Freedom from Drone Surveillance Act Report. The agency conducted 38 drone flights between July 2023 and March 2024.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority
The Huntley Police Department installed 17 Flock Safety automated license plate readers in 2023.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Shaw Local News
The Huntley Police Department outfitted all officers with Axon body-worn cameras in 2023.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Shaw Local News
Woodstock Police Department
The Woodstock Police Department has two drones, according to the 2024 Illinois Freedom from Drone Surveillance Act Report. The agency conducted seven drone flights between July 2023 and March 2024.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority
The Woodstock Police Department uses automated license plate readers.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Shaw Local News
The Woodstock Police Department has 40 body-worn cameras, as of 2019.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board
Algonquin Police Department
The Algonquin Police Department has two drones, according to the 2024 Illinois Freedom from Drone Surveillance Act Report. The agency conducted 21 drone flights between July 2023 and March 2024.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority
Lakewood Police Department
The Lakewood Police Department has nine body-worn cameras as of 2024.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board
McHenry County Conservation District Police
The McHenry County Conservation District Police has one drone according to the 2024 Illinois Freedom from Drone Surveillance Act Report.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority
Prairie Grove Police Department
The Prairie Grove Police Department has four body-worn cameras as of 2024.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board
Richmond Police Department
The Richmond Police Department has nine Getac body-worn cameras as of 2024.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board
Spring Grove Police Department
The Spring Grove Police Department has has eight body-worn cameras as of 2024.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards BoardIllinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board
Cary Police Department
The Cary Police Department uses Flock Safety automated license plate readers.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Flock Safety
The Cary Police Department has one drone, according to the 2022 Illinois Freedom from Drome Surveillance Act Report.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): State of Illinois
Harvard Police Department
The Harvard Police Department uses body-worn cameras, according to a 2018 report by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board
Lakemoor Police Department
The Lakemoor Police Department uses 15 WatchGuard body-worn cameras as of 2024.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards BoardU.S Department of JusticeIllinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board
Source: EFF Atlas of Surveillance (Electronic Frontier Foundation & University of Nevada, Reno — Reynolds School of Journalism) · CC BY 4.0 · retrieved July 2026