Who flies surveillance drones in Monterey County?
- Active Drone as first responder
- Agency
- Greenfield Police Department
- Vendor
- Paladin Drones
- Devices
- —
| System | Agency | Vendor | Status | Devices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drone as first responder | Greenfield Police Department | Paladin Drones | Active | — |
What we do not know
Greenfield Police
- Whether any policy governs what the drone records, how long footage is kept, who may watch it and when it may be flown. We looked on the city website and did not find one.
- Whether the $38,500 was a one-off purchase or the first payment of a recurring service. The warrant covers "drone and software" and a drone-as-first-responder service is normally a subscription. A later 2025 council packet mentions the vendor again and we have not read it.
- How many aircraft the department operates. The resolution says a drone. Trade coverage of the May 2025 launch describes two.
- What the staff report said. The minutes record that one was given. We have not read it, so we do not know what the council was told about cost, capability or data.
- Whether the drone is in fact used at community events, and whether anything recorded there is kept.
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 Monterey County.
Go to the Monterey 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 ↗