Hidalgo County
County record. Includes every city and agency within Hidalgo 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
Donna Police Department
The Donna Police Department received $85,658 towards its body-worn camera program in October 2024 from the Texas Governor's Public Safety Office.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Texas Office of the Governor
Mercedes Police Department
The Mercedes Police Department received $17,569 towards its body-worn camera program in September 2024 from the Texas Governor's Public Safety Office.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Texas Office of the Governor
Palmhurst Police Department
The Palmhurst Police Department received $24,000 towards its body-worn camera program in October 2024 from the Texas Governor's Public Safety Office.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Texas Office of the Governor
Weslaco Police Department
The Weslaco Police Department submitted a policy related to drones and the use of force to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Texas Commission On Law Enforcement
With a $9,988 grant from the Texas Governor's office, the Weslaco Police Department purchased two WatchGuard body-worn camera systems for motorcycle police officers in 2018.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Weslaco City Council
Sullivan City Police Department
The Sullivan City Police Department received a Small, Rural, and Tribal Body-Worn Camera Program grant for $5,515 for 6 body-worn cameras in 2023.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Justice & Security StrategiesJustice & Security Strategies
Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office
The Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office uses Motorola body-worn cameras.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office
The Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office operates three DJI 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 Collegevalleycentral.com
Through Operation Stonegarden, the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office purchased two SkyCop surveillance trailers for $235,000. In addition to video and audio, the cameras also function as automated license plate readers.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Hidalgo County Meeting Minutes
Mission Police Department
The Texas Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority gave the Mission Police Department a grant to purchase automated license plate readers in 2022.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority
The Mission 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 Collegemissiontexas.us
The Mission Police Department purchased 158 body-worn cameras in 2017 for $193,430, with the bulk of the funding coming from the Texas Governor's office.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Mission City Councilmissiontexas.usweb.archive.org
Palmview Police Department
The Texas Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority gave the Palmview Police Department a grant to purchase automated license plate readers in 2022.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority
Penitas Police Department
The Texas Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority gave the Penitas Police Department a grant to purchase automated license plate readers in 2022.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority
La Joya Police Department
The La Joya Police Department received $30,000 from the Bureau of Justice Assistance to purchase 15 body-worn cameras through the 2022 Small, Rural, Tribal BWC Microgrant program.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Small, Rural, and Tribal Body-Worn Camera microgrant grantee list
McAllen Independent School District Police Department
The McAllen Independent School District Police Department operates two DJI drones as of 2017, 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.themonitor.comwww.themonitor.com
South Texas College Department of Public Safety
Police officers at South Texas College use body-worn cameras.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): South Texas Collegeadmin.southtexascollege.edu
Alamo Police Department
Alamo Police Department received a $13,142 federal grant for body-worn cameras in 2016. As of 2019, APD personnel continued to received training on BWCs.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Lower Rio Grande Valley Development CouncilUS Department of JusticeU.S. Department of Justice
Pharr Police Department
Through Operation Stonegarden, the Pharr Police Department purchased two SkyCop surveillance trailers for $110,500. In addition to video and audio, the cameras also function as automated license plate readers.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Hidalgo County Meeting Minutes
The Pharr Police Department outfitted all its officers with body-worn cameras in November 2016.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): The Brownsville Herald
The Pharr Police Department maintains a voluntary registry of private and personal surveillance cameras.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): City of Pharr
Hidalgo Police Department
Through Operation Stonegarden, the Hidalgo Police Department purchased one SkyCop surveillance trailers for $79,000. In addition to video and audio, the cameras also function as automated license plate readers.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Hidalgo County Meeting Minutes
Edinburg Police Department
Through Operation Stonegarden, the Edinburg Police Department purchased one FLIR SkyCop (thermal vision) surveillance trailer for $69,584.30. In addition to video and audio, the cameras also function as automated license plate readers.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Hidalgo County Meeting Minutes
The Edinburg Police Department began its body-worn camera program in 2016, but had to replace its 17 cameras in 2017 due to battery life issues.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Valley Central
San Juan Police Department
As of 2015, the San Juan Police Department requires all officers to wear a body-worn cameras.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Valley Central
Alton Police Department
The Alton Police Department operates a "Citizen Camera Program."
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Alton Police Department
Source: EFF Atlas of Surveillance (Electronic Frontier Foundation & University of Nevada, Reno — Reynolds School of Journalism) · CC BY 4.0 · retrieved July 2026