California
Napa County
On record
Checked 21 Aug 2026- Technologies
- 2
- Systems
- 3
- Devices mapped
- 53
Napa County, California. Device data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), with community reporting via DeFlock. Open the full map →
Napa County’s research pass read the city police department’s license plate reader policy, which carries a March 2026 stamp and names three separate vendors whose cameras read plates, and the Sheriff’s policy manual, which holds the license plate reader, drone and military equipment chapters. The two agencies’ retention rules point in opposite directions: the city has its vendors purge at 30 days, and the Sheriff keeps data for at least a year. The Flock transparency portal for the city police department could not be read by our tools, and the policies and council records of Calistoga, St. Helena and American Canyon were not swept on this pass and remain open, as does the council record behind the city’s contract.
What's in use here
Napa's police policy names three vendors whose cameras read plates in the city, including the red light cameras at intersections. It bars sharing the data for federal immigration enforcement and limits sharing to California agencies. The camera count is not in the policy.
The Sheriff's policy keeps plate data for at least a year, where the city police policy has vendors purge it at 30 days. The chapter names no limit on federal or out-of-state agencies, and the manual's separate immigration chapter covers other records rather than plate data.
The Sheriff's drone policy sets a 180-day cap on keeping images of identifiable people, promises an annual public summary of flights, and bars weaponisation and random surveillance. The inventory section of the office's military equipment policy is an unfilled template.
Who runs it
The agency is the accountability unit: who voted, whose policy applies, and who answers a records request.
| Agency | Jurisdiction | AB 481 policy | SB 34 policy | Systems |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Napa County Sheriff's Office | Napa County | On file | On file | 2 |
| Napa Police Department | City of Napa | — | Posted | 1 |
| 2 agencies on record. A jointly run system counts against each of its operators, so this column is not a county total. "Posted" means the policy is published where the law requires it. "On file" means we hold the document. "Not posted" and "not found" mean we could not find it on the agency's own website on the date shown; they say nothing about how the system is used. An agency with a dash has not been checked, which is not a finding. | ||||
Trackers
Meetings, contracts, records
Nothing listed yet. The trackers launch here, and facts appear only with their sources.
How the inventory works →What you can do
Civic action
Show up
Public comment is open to any resident, and you do not have to be an expert to use it. We have not yet confirmed where the bodies that decide for Napa County meet. How the inventory works explains what we check and how to check it yourself.
How the inventory works →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.
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