Surveillance info
These articles give short introductions to different aspects of surveillance infrastructure: the technologies used to track and identify people in public space, and the companies that sell and operate them.
They are intended to help you understand what is being deployed in communities, who profits from it, and why it matters for civil liberties and equity. We will update them as we obtain more information. If you have information to contribute, please get in touch.
Technologies
Overviews of surveillance technologies commonly used by police and private actors.
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Automated license plate readers (ALPR)
Cameras and software that capture license plates at scale, building detailed movement histories and shared databases used by law enforcement and private companies.
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Facial recognition
Systems that match faces from video or photos against databases. Used at borders, in policing, and in private venues—with serious accuracy and bias concerns.
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Body-worn and in-car cameras
Officer and vehicle cameras that record encounters. Often integrated with other platforms for storage, analytics, and real-time streaming.
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Real-time crime centers & fusion platforms
Centralized systems that aggregate live video feeds, ALPR hits, and other data into a single dashboard for police—often supplied by the same vendors selling the cameras.
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Gait recognition & tracking
Biometric identification based on how a person walks. Operates covertly at long range, works when subjects are masked or hooded, and can run on existing camera networks with no new hardware.
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Companies
Vendors that provide surveillance cameras, software, and data networks to law enforcement and private clients.
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Flock Safety
Major ALPR and camera vendor. Subscription-based “Flock Safety for Cities” and similar programs deploy networks of cameras that feed into cloud analytics and shared searchable databases used by thousands of agencies.
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Fusus
Real-time crime center and “fusion” platform that aggregates video from public and private cameras, ALPR, and other sources into a single interface for police.
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Peregrine
Provider of ALPR and surveillance camera systems and analytics, often integrated with fusion and real-time crime center deployments.
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Motorola Solutions (e.g. Vigilant / Avigilon)
Large supplier of public safety tech: ALPR (Vigilant), video surveillance (Avigilon), radios, and command-center software used in many jurisdictions.
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Genetec
Video management and analytics company offering ALPR, unified security platforms, and cloud services used by cities and law enforcement.
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More resources
For deeper dives into surveillance policy and vendor accountability, see the EFF's surveillance resources, the ACLU's surveillance technology page, and the Brennan Center for Justice.