Who runs license plate readers in Butte County?
- Active License plate readers
- Agency
- Butte County Sheriff's Office
- Vendor
- Flock Safety
- Devices
- —
- Active License plate readers
- Agency
- Chico Police Department
- Vendor
- Motorola Solutions
- Devices
- —
- Active License plate readers
- Agency
- Oroville Police Department
- Vendor
- Flock Safety
- Devices
- —
| System | Agency | Vendor | Status | Devices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| License plate readers | Butte County Sheriff's Office | Flock Safety | Active | — |
| License plate readers | Chico Police Department | Motorola Solutions | Active | — |
| License plate readers | Oroville Police Department | Flock Safety | Active | — |
On the map
- 0
- Verified by us
- 104
- Community-reported
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), including community reporting via the DeFlock project. Tiles by OpenFreeMap.
What we do not know
Butte County Sheriff
- The Flock Safety agreement, purchase orders and invoices, and any Board item approving them.
- The configured retention period and the list of agencies with access.
- The locations of the readers not on Caltrans right-of-way.
- Who operates the community-mapped readers on the Paradise ridge and in Gridley.
Chico Police
- The full list of agencies with access under each agreement, with dates of signature and of the July 2026 shutoff.
- Whether Policy 450 has been revised since its 2026-06-02 stamp to remove the federal-sharing sentence.
- The Motorola contract, purchase orders, camera count and locations.
- The council items that funded the network and any report to council.
Oroville Police
- The 2023 agreement and the 2025 renewal as council records, with the device count.
- The usage and privacy policy the state requires an operator to post.
- The transparency portal's sharing list and search counts.
- Whether the gunshot detection the 2023 contract described is operating, and how it is used.
What license plate readers are
An automated license plate reader photographs every passing vehicle and records the plate, the time and the place. It does not watch suspects. It logs everyone, and the record is usually kept on a vendor’s servers.
How they work, why agencies buy them, and every county we have documented →
What you can do
Civic action
Show up
This technology is bought and renewed by boards, councils and committees that meet in public. We have not yet confirmed where each of them meets in Butte County.
Go to the Butte County hub →Personal protection
Protect yourself
Practical steps to shrink your personal data trail. Our guides publish at launch; until then, EFF's Surveillance Self-Defense is the best starting point.
Surveillance Self-Defense ↗