Lorain County
County record. Includes every city and agency within Lorain 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
Lorain County Sheriff's Office
The Lorain County Sheriff's Office operates 14 Flock Safety automated license plate readers as of September 2025.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Pittsboro Police Department
In January 2022, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine awarded $147,042.08 to the Lorain County Sheriff's Office for expenses associated with launching or maintaining body-worn camera programs.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Office of the GovernorOffice of the Governor
Lorain Police Department
As of April 2024, the Lorain Police Department operates 40 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
In January 2022, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine awarded $94,320.00 to the Lorain 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
The Lorain Police Department maintains a camera registry.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Lorain Police Department
Elyria Police Department
The Elyria Police Department received a state grant for automated license plate reader technology. The agency has installed automated license plate readers on the outskirts of the city, according to a 2023 article.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): The Chronicle-TelegramState of Ohio
The Elyria City Council, in February 2022, approved a $1.1 million, five-year contract with Axon Enterprises for body-worn cameras and in-car cameras.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): The Chronicle
The Elyria Police Department operates two drones as of 2019, 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 Collegewww.morningjournal.com
Amherst Police Department
As of April 2024, the Amherst Police Department operates 12 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 Amherst Police Department received a $98,190 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
Avon Lake Police Department
Avon Lake installed four Flock Safety automated license plate readers in April 2022.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): The Chronicle
The Avon Lake Police Department received a $19,373 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
Avon Police Department
The Avon Police Department spent $20,000 to equip all 35 of its officers with body-worn cameras in 2016.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Cleveland.com, northeast Ohio news sourceCity of Avon, Ohio Facebook photo
The Avon Police Department operates one drone, 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 Collegewww.cityofavon.com
North Ridgeville Police Department
The North Ridgeville Police Department operates 22 Flock Safety automated license plate readers as of September 2025.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Pittsboro Police Department
The North Ridgeville Police Department uses body-worn cameras (including when officers chase down fugitive cows).
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): North Ridgeville Police Dept.Morning Journal
Oberlin Police Department
As of April 2024, the Oberlin 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 Oberlin Police Department acquired body-worn cameras in 2014, and currently uses Axon body-worn cameras.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): The Oberlin ReviewOberlin Police Facebook
Sheffield Village Police Department
As of April 2024, the Sheffield Village 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
The Sheffield Village Police Department received a $20,131 grant for body-worn cameras from the Ohio Department of Public Safety in 2022. The Sheffield Village Police Department also received a Small, Rural, and Tribal Body-Worn Camera Program grant for $4,830 for 8 body-worn cameras in 2023.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Ohio Department of Public SafetyOhio Governor's OfficeJustice & Security Strategies
Grafton Police Department
The Grafton Police Department received a $11,961 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
Lorain County Metro Parks Police Department
The Lorain County Metro Parks Police Department received a $8,341 grant for body-worn cameras from the Ohio Department of Public Safety in 2022. In January 2022, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine awarded $14,187.85 to the Lorain County Metro Parks Ranger Department for expenses associated with launching or maintaining body-worn camera programs.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Ohio Department of Public SafetyOhio Governor's OfficeOffice of the Governor
Sheffield Lake Police Department
The Sheffield Lake Police Department received $12,980 from the Ohio Department of Public Safety to purchase body-worn cameras in 2026.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Ohio State GovernorOhio State Governor
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 Lorain County or a jurisdiction within it.
| Feb 10, 2023 | Lorain, Ohio, Council Approves License Plate Reader Network - GovTech |
| Jul 16, 2010 | Northeast Ohio police getting equipment that reads thousands of license plates a minute - Cleveland.com |