Mecklenburg County
County record. Includes every city and agency within Mecklenburg 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
Matthews Police Department
The Matthews Police Department operates 12 Flock Safety automated license plate readers as of September 2025.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Pittsboro Police Department
The Matthews Police Department maintains a voluntary registry of private and personal surveillance cameras.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Town of Matthews
Davidson Police Department
The Davidson Police Department operates 12 Flock Safety automated license plate readers, plus 10 additional ALPR-enabled cameras, as of September 2025.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Pittsboro Police Department
University of North Carolina Charlotte Police Department
The University of North Carolina Charlotte Police Department operates 17 Flock Safety automated license plate readers as of September 2025.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Pittsboro Police Department
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department uses Axon's Fusus camera registry.
The Charlotte-Mecklenurg Police Department has been using body-worn cameras since at least 2014. In 2022, the agency replaced its previous model with Axon BWCs.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Charlotte ObserverCharlotte-Mecklenurg Police FoundationWCNC
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's real-time crime center has been operating since 2013. The RTCC has access to over 1,000 cameras across the city, and is connected to at least 95 fixed automated license plate readers. Around 13 mobile ALPRs are attached to mobile message/radar trailers and a gunshot detection system. As of April 2013, CMPD'S RTCC has also had access to numerous data-sharing networks, including: LexisNexis, NCAWARE, CJLEADS, LiNX, the CMPD records management system, the North Carolina Crime Information Center, and the National Crime Information Center.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): NDI Recognition SystemsJustice Information Sharing via DOJJustice Information Sharing via DOJ
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department first acquired a Stingray cell-site simulator from Harris Corp. in 2006. The agency upgraded the technology in 2012 and has not owned it since 2018.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): VocativKevin CollierCharlotte Observer
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has over 100 automated license plate readers.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): WCNCCharlotte Mecklenburg Police DepartmentCity of Charlotte
Cornelius Police Department
The Cornelius Police Department began using Motorola V300 body-worn cameras in 2016. The agency began a five-year transition to Axon body-worn cameras in February 2024.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Cornelius TodayCity of CorneliusCornelius Police Department's Facebook Page
Huntersville Police Department
As of April 2024, the Huntersville Police Department operates 10 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 Huntersville Police Department uses body-worn cameras, according to a 2018 news article.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): WBTV3
Mint Hill Police Department
As of April 2024, the Mint Hill Police Department operates 10 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
Pineville Police Department
As of April 2024, the Pineville Police Department operates eight 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
Source: EFF Atlas of Surveillance (Electronic Frontier Foundation & University of Nevada, Reno — Reynolds School of Journalism) · CC BY 4.0 · retrieved July 2026