Scott County
County record. Includes every city and agency within Scott 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
Belle Plaine Police Department
The Belle Plaine Police Department uses Axon body-worn cameras.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): City of Belle Plaine, MN's Facebook PageBelle Plaine Police Department
Scott County Sheriff’s Office
The Scott County Sheriff Office's uses Axon body-worn cameras.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Scott County Sheriff’s OfficeScott County Sheriff's Office's Facebook Page
Scott County Sheriff's Office
The Scott County Sheriff's Office spent $8,032.33 on its unmanned aerial vehicle program in 2023 and flew a drone 17 times without a warrant that year.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Minnesota Department of Public SafetyMinnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension
Shakopee Police Department
The Shakopee Police Department has 53 Axon body-worn cameras, according to a 2024 audit.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): City of Shakopee - Shakopee Police DepartmentLynn Lembcke ConsultingLynn Lembcke ConsultingMinn. Legislature - Legislative Commission on Data PracticesMinn. Legislature - Legislative Commission on Data PracticesMinn. Legislature - Office of the Legislative Auditor
The Shakopee Police Department disclosed to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension that it uses automated license plate readers.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Minnesota Bureau of Criminal ApprehensionShakopee Police
Prior Lake Police Department
The Prior Lake Police Department has 37 Axon body-worn cameras, according to a 2024 audit.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Minn. Legislature - Legislative Commission on Data PracticesCity of Prior Lake - Prior Lake Police DepartmentLynn Lembcke Consulting
The Prior Lake Police Department flew an unmanned aerial vehicle without a warrant 7 times in 2020.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension
The Prior Lake Police Department conducted over 1,100 face recognition searches using Clearview AI between July 2019 and February 2020.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Buzzfeed News
Elko New Market Police Department
The Elko New Market Police Department uses WatchGuard body-worn cameras, according to a 2023 audit.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): City of Elko New Market - City of Elko New Market Police DepartmentMinnesota Security Consortium (MNSec)
Jordan Police Department
The Jordan Police Department has 12 Axon body-worn cameras, according to a 2022 audit.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): City of Jordan - Jordan Police DepartmentLynn Lembcke ConsultingMinn. Legislature - Legislative Commission on Data Practices
Source: EFF Atlas of Surveillance (Electronic Frontier Foundation & University of Nevada, Reno — Reynolds School of Journalism) · CC BY 4.0 · retrieved July 2026