Who flies surveillance drones in Los Angeles County?
- Active Drones
- Agency
- Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
- Vendor
- —
- Devices
- —
| System | Agency | Vendor | Status | Devices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drones | Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department | — | Active | — |
What we do not know
LA County Sheriff
- What the 34 flights in the last quarter of 2025 were actually for. The Inspector General has been asking for more than a category name for more than one reporting period.
- When the twenty Flock Safety Alpha aircraft were bought, under what contract, and whether they share any platform with the Department's plate reader system.
- Whether the Military Equipment Management System now produces usage data, which the 2025 report said it could not.
- Whether the Board's annual review of the military equipment policy, which the statute requires, has produced any change.
What drones are
An unmanned aircraft carrying a camera, flown by a public agency. Where a state classes drones as military equipment, as California does, a public policy and a governing-body vote are required before an agency uses one.
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 Los Angeles County.
Go to the Los Angeles 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 ↗