Butler County
County record. Includes every city and agency within Butler 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
Butler County Sheriff's Office
The Butler County Sheriff’s Office received more than $55,000 in grant funds for the Ohio's Governor's Office for body-worn cameras in 2023. Previously, the agency received a $168,053 grant for body-worn cameras from the Ohio Department of Public Safety in 2022.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Ohio Department of Public SafetyOhio Governor's OfficeOhio Governor's Office
The Butler County Sheriff's Office’s Office operates one Yuneec Typhoon Q500 drone as of 2016, 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 CollegeJournal-Newswww.daytondailynews.com
Fairfield Police Department
As of April 2024, the Fairfield Police Department operates 44 Flock Safety automated license plate readers. The agency stores ALPR data for 30 days.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Flock SafetyJournal NewsFairfield Township
The Fairfield Police Department started a body-worn camera program in 2013.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Fairfield Police DepartmentWLCT
The Fairfield Police Department purchased two drones in 2021 for $7,000.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Journal-News
Hamilton Police Department
The Hamilton Police Department operates 25 Flock Safety automated license plate readers as of September 2025.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Pittsboro Police Department
The Hamilton Police Department purchased 100 Axon body-worn cameras in 2022.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Government TechnologyOffice of the GovernorOffice of the Governor
The Hamilton Police Department shares a drone with the Hamilton Public Works Department.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Journal-News | Butler County Local News
West Chester Township Police Department
The West Chester Township Police Department purchased 32 fixed automated license plate readers and two portable ALPRs in 2022.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): The Journal-NewsWCPOWest Chester Township Youtube
The West Chester Township Police Department received more than $43,000 in grant funds for the Ohio's Governor's Office for body-worn cameras in 2023. Previously, the agency received a $46,325 grant for body-worn cameras from the Ohio Department of Public Safety in 2022.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Ohio Governor's OfficeWTVGOhio Department of Public Safety
The West Chester Township Police Department purchased a drone for $27, 690 in 2022, with plans to purchase a second drone for $10,000.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Journal-News
Fairfield Township Police Department
The Fairfield Township Police Department operates 13 Flock Safety automated license plate readers as of September 2025.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Pittsboro Police Department
The Fairfield Township Police Department received a $18,965 grant for body-worn cameras from the Ohio Department of Public Safety in 2022.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Ohio Department of Public SafetyOhio Governor's Office
Monroe Police Department
The Monroe Police Department received a $45,366 grant to purchase body-worn cameras in 2025 from the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Ohio Department of Public SafetyGovernor Mike DeWine's X account
The Monroe Police Department purchased two drones in 2017.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Journal-News
Oxford Police Department
The Oxford Police Department operates 15 Flock Safety automated license plate readers as of September 2025.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Pittsboro Police Department
The Oxford Police Department purchased a drone for $11,349 in 2020.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Journal-News
Trenton Police Department
The Trenton Police Department operates 11 Flock Safety automated license plate readers as of September 2025.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Pittsboro Police Department
The Trenton Police Department received a $52,319 grant to purchase body-worn cameras in 2025 from the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Ohio Department of Public SafetyGovernor Mike DeWine's X account
Miami University Parking and Transporation Services
Miami University Parking and Transportation Services began automated license plate readers for parking enforcement in January 2019.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Miami University
Miami University Police Department
The Miami University Police Department received more than $37,000 in grant funds for the Ohio's Governor's Office for body-worn cameras in 2023.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Ohio Governor's OfficeWTVG
Middletown Division of Police
The Middletown Division of Police received a $49,608 grant for body-worn cameras from the Ohio Department of Public Safety in 2022.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Ohio Department of Public SafetyOhio Governor's Office
Middletown Police Department
The Middletown Police Department installed 26 Flock automated license plate readers in August 2022.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): WHIO TV 7
Oxford Police Division
In January 2022, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine awarded $31,451.38 to the the Oxford Division of Police for expenses associated with launching or maintaining body-worn camera programs.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Office of the GovernorOffice of the Governor
Oxford Township Police Department
In January 2022, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine awarded $10,546.60 to the Oxford Township Police Department for expenses associated with launching or maintaining body-worn camera programs.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Office of the GovernorOffice of the Governor
Ross Township Police Department
The Ross Township Police Department received a $18,645 grant to purchase body-worn cameras in 2025 from the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Ohio Department of Public SafetyGovernor Mike DeWine's X account
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 Butler County or a jurisdiction within it.
| May 20 | Area police share license plate reader data for immigration, unstated reasons, records show - Dayton Daily News |