Data Library
One of the primary goals of the Atlas of Surveillance is to provide journalists and researchers with the data they need to do in-depth reports on law enforcement surveillance around the country. To that end, we've made our source data available, but we've also compiled this library of data sets and data projects from other organizations that informed the Atlas of Surveillance or are useful in tandem with our research.
Atlas of Surveillance
Last Updated: Regularly
Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation
This is the complete Atlas of Surveillance dataset.
Atlas of Surveillance: Border Communities
Last Updated: January 10, 2020
Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation
A dataset of local, state, and federal surveillance in the 23 U.S. counties along the Southern border with Mexico.
Who Has Your Face?
Last Updated: March 19, 2020
Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation
A dataset illustrating whether state officials—often driver license agencies—share your image with other agencies or allow it to be used in conjunction with facial recognition.
Public Safety Drones
Source: Bard College - Center for the Study of the Drone
A comprehensive dataset containing information about drones operated by law enforcement and fire agencies.
Ring/Neighbors Partnerships
Last Updated: Regularly
Source: Ring Inc.
A map of partnerships between Ring and law enforcement agencies, including the data of the partnership and the number of requests for video footage made by police.
Mapping China’s Tech Giants
Last Updated: Ongoing
Source: International Cyber Policy Centre, Australian Strategic Policy Institute
A dataset illustrating the footprint of Chinese's tech industry across multiple sectors, including artificial intelligence and smart cities.
Cell-site Simulators
Last Updated: April 11, 2017
Source: Kevin Collier
Journalist Kevin Collier conducted his own research and aggregated the research of others to map out which law enforcement agencies operate cell-site simulators.
The Facial Recognition World Map
Last Updated:
Source: SurfShark
A map, dataset, and analysis of facial recognition on the country level.
AI Global Surveillance Index
Last Updated: September 17, 2019
Source: Carnegie Endowment, Steven Felstein
The index compiles empirical data on artificial intelligence surveillance use in more than 176 countries around the world.
Federally Funded Body-Worn Cameras
Last Updated: 2020
Source: Bureau of Justice Assistance
The U.S. Department of Justice has provided grant funds to hundreds of local law enforcement agencies to purchase body-worn cameras.
This data was scraped and compiled by EFF from PDFs and other web pages maintained by the Bureau of Justice Assistance.
Wiretap Reports
Last Updated: Annually
Source: United State Courts
The U.S. Courts collects data from all federal and state court jurisdictions regarding the interception of electronic communication. The data includes types of crimes, outcomes, and costs for each jurisdiction, going back to 1997.
Aaron Swartz Day Police Surveillance Project
Last Updated: September 17, 2020
Source: Aaron Swartz Day and International Hackathon
Data compiled from an ongoing campaign to file public records requests with local law enforcement agencies (primarily in California) related to surveillance technology.
California Automated License Plate Readers
Last Updated: February 13, 2020
Source: California State Auditor’s Office
In 2019-2020, the California State Auditor surveyed every law enforcement agency in the state on their use of automated license plate readers.
Note: This file represents the raw data obtained by EFF through a California Public Records Act request and has not been altered.
Electronic Search Warrant Notifications
Last Updated: February 9, 2023
Source: California Department of Justice
A dataset of search warrants for user data, electronic devices and other digital searches pursuant to the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act.
Data Driven - Automated License Plate Reader Data
Last Updated: January 28, 2020
Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation
Using public records laws, EFF obtained information on the use of Vigilant Solutions automated license plate reader technology by U.S. law enforcement agencies, including the number of license plates scanned, how many of these plates were on watch lists, and "data sharing reports" showing the flow of data between agencies.
Mass Extraction - Mobile Device Forensic Tools
Last Updated: October 21, 2020
Source: Upturn
Using public records and other sources, Upturn collected data on use of digital forensic technologies, such as Cellebrite, by local enforcement agencies.
New Jersey Statewide Body-Worn Camera Survey
Last Updated: September 2020
In 2020, the Office of the New Jersey Attorney General surveyed law enforcement agencies on their use of body-worn cameras and published the findings by county.
Wisconsin Law Enforcement Employee Recording Devices Survey
Last Updated: January 21, 2021
The Wisconsin Department of Justice surveyed Wisconsin Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) registered agencies on the use of body-worn cameras and dashboard cameras.
U.S. College Campus Police Surveillance
Last Updated: March 3, 2021
A dataset derived from the Atlas of Surveillance of technologies used by campus police department in the United States
Clearview AI Table
Last Updated: April 6, 2021
"Clearview AI has created a powerful facial recognition tool and marketed it to police departments and government agencies. The company has never disclosed the entities that have used its facial recognition software, but a confidential source provided BuzzFeed News with data that appeared to be a list of agencies and companies whose employees have tried or used its technology.
"Using that data, along with public records and interviews [Buzzfeed has] created a searchable database of US-based taxpayer-funded entities, including tribal, local, and state police departments publicly funded university law enforcement bodies; district attorneys’ offices; and federal agencies such as the Air Force and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. [Buzzfeed] included only those agencies for which the data shows that at least one associated individual ran at least one facial recognition scan as of February 2020."
Data Driven 2: California Dragnet
Last Updated: April 22, 2021
In April 2021, EFF released Data Driven 2: California Dragnet, a public records collection and data set that shines light on the massive amount of vehicle surveillance conducted by police in California using automated license plate readers (ALPRs)—and how very little of this surveillance is actually relevant to an active public safety interest. The data set covered 89 law enforcement agencies in California and is a sequel to EFF's 2018 Data Driven report.
California Law Enforcement Agencies' Policy Documents
Last Updated: April 26, 2021
A data set with links to 458 policy manuals from California law enforcement agencies, the first attempt to aggregate these policy documents following the passage of state law S.B. 978, which requires local law enforcement agencies to publish this information online.
Small Rural Tribal Body Worn Camera Program
Last Updated: December 29, 2021
A dataset of every agency that received a grant from U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance under the Small Rural Tribal body-worn camera micro-grant program in 2022.
Massachusetts' 2021 body-worn camera grant awards
Last Updated: December 31, 2021
A data set listing the 64 municipalities receiving awards totaling more than $4 million for expenses associated with starting or expanding body-worn camera programs.
Ohio 2022 Body-worn camera grant awards
Last Updated: January 24, 2022
A data set listing the 109 Ohio law enforcement agencies receiving a total of over $4.7 million for expenses associated with launching or maintaining body-worn camera programs.
2020 Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Minnesota Legislative Report)
Last Updated: June 15, 2021
A report detailing use of drones by law enforcement agencies in 2020, including the number of times each agency used drones, the cost of each agency's drone program, and the by-agency use reason.
Registered Public Safety UAS Program Map
Last Updated: April 3, 2022
A searchable global map listing law enforcement, multi-disciplinary teams, fire service, search and rescue, emergency managment and other agencies with drone programs that are registered with Drone Responders. Individual entries detail the location, date program started, type of agency, number of pilots and number of drones.
Bureau of Justice Assistance, US Department of Justice Body-worn camera grant awards
Last Updated: April 3, 2022
A searchable database listing Bureau of Justice Assistance body-worn camera related grant awards from 2015.
Federal Aviation Administration Drone Registration Lookup
Last Updated: April 13, 2022
Drones operated by law enforcement and public safety agencies must register their drones with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). While the FAA has not made it easy to look up owners of drones, the Aircraft Registration Database can be downloaded in a comma separated value format (.csv) in its entirety (60 MB) or by year of registration.
Cities using ShotSpotter
Last Updated: April 13, 2022
ShotSpotter provides an online list of the publicly announced cities that have deployed ShotSpotter technology.
Smart City Technology Adoption in California
Last Updated: March 2021
Various datasets and maps related to the use of smart city technologies in California, including a dataset of policing technologies, such as Nixle and Crimemapping.
Directory of Police Department Social Media Policies
Last Updated: May 25,2022
A list of social media policies for 35 police departments.
South Carolina Body-worn Camera Grants FY 2017-2023
Last Updated: 5/13/2022
This spreadsheet includes details of grants provided by the South Carolina Department of Public Safety to more than 260 law enforcement agencies for body-worn cameras for the Fiscal Years 2017-2023.
Current and Planned Uses of Facial Recognition Technology by Federal Agencies
Last Updated: August 2021
In response a 2020 GAO survey, 18 out of 24 federal agencies reported using facial recognition technology. "This report identifies and describes (1) how agencies used FRT in fiscal year 2020, including any related research and development and interactions with non-federal entities, and (2) how agencies plan to expand their use of FRT through fiscal year 2023." The report contains detailed tables describing specific vendors, uses, and state and local jurisdictions accessed by federal agencies.
Equipped for War - Exposing militarized policing in California
Last Updated: April 2022
"A California law (AB 481) signed into law on September 30, 2021, requires police agencies that have militarized equipment to define policies governing its use, and to report on deployments. In this report, we [American Friends Service Committee] present an analysis of acquisitions, deployments, and use policies for military equipment, and law enforcement agencies’ transparency on these issues." There is also a searchable map showing purchase and equipment data by jurisdiction and agency.
Correctional Contracts Library
Last Updated: Periodically
A searchable database of contracts and other documents that spell out the terms of the agreements governments have with private companies that provide services to jails and prisons, such as phone calls, money transfers, commissary, and release cards.
National Police Funding Database
Last Updated: Periodically
A searchable database with information on police and sheriff department federal grant funding, misconduct settlements, consent decrees, military equipment transfers, law enforcement staffing and regional demographics.
Surveillance under Surveillance
Last Updated: Hourly
Surveillance under Surveillance maps cameras (fixed, panning, dome, license plate reading), and security guards globally, with a particular focus on Western Europe. It uses data from OpenStreetMap contributors. Clickable colored icons gives users an overview about the indexed surveillance entries.