Washtenaw County
County record. Includes every city and agency within Washtenaw 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
Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office
The Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office uses body-worn cameras.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Belleville IndependentFox 2 Detroit
The Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office has desktop access to Michigan State Police's face recognition system, the Statewide Network of Agency Photos (SNAP).
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Michigan State PoliceMichigan State PoliceMichigan State Police
Ann Arbor Police Department
The Ann Arbor Police Department replaced its L3 body-worn cameras with Axon cameras in 2019.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Michigan Live
The Ann Arbor Police Department has desktop access to Michigan State Police's face recognition system, the Statewide Network of Agency Photos (SNAP).
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Michigan State PoliceMichigan State PoliceMichigan State Police
Eastern Michigan University Department of Public Safety
The Eastern Michigan University Department of Public Safety purchased 43 body-worn cameras for $17,000 in 2014-2015.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): EMU TodayEMU Police Facebook
The Eastern Michigan University Department of Public Safety has desktop access to Michigan State Police's face recognition system, the Statewide Network of Agency Photos (SNAP).
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Michigan State PoliceMichigan State PoliceMichigan State Police
Milan Police Department
As of April 2024, the Milan Police Department operates four 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 Milan Police Department has desktop access to Michigan State Police's face recognition system, the Statewide Network of Agency Photos (SNAP).
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Michigan State PoliceMichigan State PoliceMichigan State Police
Ypsilanti Police Department
The Ypsilanti Police Department began using automated license plate readers in 2014.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): City of Ypsilianti
The Ypsilanti Police Department received $15,108 from the Bureau of Justice Assistance to purchase 35 body-worn cameras through the 2022 Small, Rural, Tribal BWC Microgrant program. The agency purchased five L-3 body-worn cameras and received 10 additional BWCs at no cost in 2014.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): MLIVEArboYpsi LawSmall, Rural, and Tribal Body-Worn Camera microgrant grantee list
Chelsea Police Department
The Chelsea Police Department has desktop access to Michigan State Police's face recognition system, the Statewide Network of Agency Photos (SNAP).
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Michigan State PoliceMichigan State PoliceMichigan State Police
Pittsfield Township Department Of Public Safety
The Pittsfield Township Department Of Public Safety has desktop access to Michigan State Police's face recognition system, the Statewide Network of Agency Photos (SNAP).
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Michigan State PoliceMichigan State PoliceMichigan State Police
Saline Police Department
The Saline Police Department has desktop access to Michigan State Police's face recognition system, the Statewide Network of Agency Photos (SNAP).
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Michigan State PoliceMichigan State PoliceMichigan State Police
University Of Michigan Department of Public Safety
The University Of Michigan Department of Public Safety has desktop access to Michigan State Police's face recognition system, the Statewide Network of Agency Photos (SNAP).
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Michigan State PoliceMichigan State PoliceMichigan State Police
University of Michigan Police Department
The U.S. Department of Justice awarded $52,500 to the University of Michigan Police Department in 2017 as part of the Bureau of Justice Assistance's body-worn camera grant program.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): U.S Department of Justice
Washtenaw Community College Department of Public Safety
The Washtenaw Community College Department of Public Safety has desktop access to Michigan State Police's face recognition system, the Statewide Network of Agency Photos (SNAP).
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Michigan State PoliceMichigan State PoliceMichigan State Police
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 Washtenaw County or a jurisdiction within it.