Charleston County
County record. Includes every city and agency within Charleston 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
Folly Beach Police Department
As of April 2024, the Folly Beach Police Department operates two 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
North Charleston Police Department
North Charleston Police Department uses the Fusus camera registry system.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): 404 Media
The North Charleston Police Department paid $41,500 for NDI Technologies automated license plate readers in 2018.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Live 5 WCSC
The North Charleston Police Department purchased body-worn cameras in 2016 with a $82,339 grant through the South Carolina Department of Public Safety.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): The Berkeley Observer
Charleston County Public Defender
The Charleston County Public Defender received $2788.41 in state funding for body-worn cameras in fiscal year 2018.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): South Carolina Department of Public SafetySouth Carolina Department of Public SafetySouth Carolina Department of Public Safety
Charleston Police Department
The Charleston Police Department operates one drone 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 Collegeabcnews4.com
The Charleston Police Department uses automated license plate readers as part of a statewide program managed by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): The Post and CourierThe Post and Courier
The U.S. Department of Justice awarded $25,264 to the Charleston Police Department in 2015 as part of the Bureau of Justice Assistance's body-worn camera grant program. CPD also received a $84,803 grant for BWCs through the South Carolina Department of Public Safety.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): The Berkeley ObserverU.S Department of Justice
The Charleston Police Department maintains a voluntary registry of private and personal surveillance cameras.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): City of Charleston
Mount Pleasant Police Department
The Mount Pleasant Police Department operates one DJI Inspire 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 Collegeabcnews4.comwww.faa.gov
The Mount Pleasant Police Department uses automated license plate readers as part of a statewide program managed by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): The Post and CourierACLUMount Pleasant Police Department Policy (page 721)
The Mount Pleasant Police Department purchased body-worn cameras in 2016 with a $73,783 grant through the South Carolina Department of Public Safety.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): The Berkeley Observer
The Mount Pleasant Police Department maintains a voluntary registry of private and personal surveillance cameras through Motorola Solutions' CityProtect platform.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): CityProtect
Charleston County Sheriff's Office
The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office purchased body-worn cameras in 2016 with a $81,800 grant through the South Carolina Department of Public Safety.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): The Berkeley Observer
The Charleston County Sheriff's Office upgraded its biometric scanning technology in 2013. The upgrade also included "a facial recognition system which will allow for the scanning of faces in large gatherings such as Cooper River Bridge Run and the Coastal Carolina Fair to identify individuals who have outstanding arrest warrants."
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Charleston CountyCharleston County
The Charleston County Sheriff's Office uses automated license plate readers.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): WRHI
Ninth Circuit Solicitor's Office
The Ninth Circuit Solicitor’s Office purchased body-worn cameras in 2016 with a $137,500 grant through the South Carolina Department of Public Safety.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): The Berkeley Observer
College of Charleston Campus Police
The College of Charleston Campus Police purchased body-worn cameras in 2016 with a $34,757 grant through the South Carolina Department of Public Safety.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): The Berkeley Observer
Medical University of South Carolina Department of Public Safety
The Medical University of South Carolina Department of Public Safety purchased body-worn cameras in 2016 with a $27,290 grant through the South Carolina Department of Public Safety.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): The Berkeley Observer
The Citadel Public Safety
The Citadel Public Safety purchased body-worn cameras in 2016 with a $9,600 grant through the South Carolina Department of Public Safety.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): The Berkeley Observer
Charleston County Aviation Authority Police Department
The Charleston County Aviation Authority Police Department purchased body-worn cameras in 2016 with a $28,851 grant through the South Carolina Department of Public Safety.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): The Berkeley Observer
Folly Beach Department of Public Safety
The Folly Beach Department of Public Safety purchased body-worn cameras in 2016 with a $31,600 grant through the South Carolina Department of Public Safety.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): The Berkeley Observer
Hanahan Police Department
The Hanahan Police Department purchased body-worn cameras in 2016 with a $31,348 grant through the South Carolina Department of Public Safety.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): The Berkeley Observer
Isle of Palms Police Department
The Isle of Palms Police Department purchased body-worn cameras in 2016 with a $9,600 grant through the South Carolina Department of Public Safety.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): The Berkeley Observer
South Carolina State Ports Authority Police Department
The South Carolina State Ports Authority Police Department purchased body-worn cameras in 2016 with a $33,595 grant through the South Carolina Department of Public Safety.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): The Berkeley Observer
Sullivan's Island Police Department
The Sullivan’s Island Police Department purchased body-worn cameras in 2016 with a $8,736 grant through the South Carolina Department of Public Safety.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): The Berkeley Observer
Source: EFF Atlas of Surveillance (Electronic Frontier Foundation & University of Nevada, Reno — Reynolds School of Journalism) · CC BY 4.0 · retrieved July 2026