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ORWELL INDEX

California

Nevada County

On record

Checked 21 Aug 2026
Technologies
4
Systems
8
Devices mapped
247

Nevada County, California. Device data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), with community reporting via DeFlock. Open the full map →

Nevada County’s research pass read the published policy manuals of all three city police departments, the Sheriff’s military equipment policy and 2025 report, Grass Valley’s Flock Safety order form, the Sheriff’s environmental notice for a reader, Truckee’s equipment list and annual summary, and the 2021 civil grand jury report on body cameras. The Sheriff’s policy index and the county’s daily newspaper could not be read by our tools on this pass and remain open.

What's in use here

4 operatorsSB 34
  • Active Grass Valley Police Updated

    Grass Valley's policy describes a second reader system, Motorola Vigilant cameras on one parking-enforcement vehicle, with data kept up to one year. The department's August 2026 suspension statement covers "fixed-point ALPR readers within our City limits" and does not mention this vehicle-mounted system.

  • Active Nevada County Sheriff Updated

    The Sheriff's Office entered a $78,500 twelve-month Flock Safety pilot in March 2023 under Board Resolution 23-142, according to a May 2024 Board resolution that authorized an environmental notice for a camera at Highway 49 and Tyler Foote Road. The camera count, the agreement after the pilot, and the sharing list are not in the records we fetched.

  • Active Truckee Police Updated

    Truckee Police says it uses Flock Safety license plate readers, with data purged by the vendor after 30 days. Its policy bars sharing for federal immigration enforcement and names Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol.

  • Retired Grass Valley Police Updated

    Grass Valley's Flock Safety order form covers 25 cameras over five years at $316,550 with 30-day retention. On August 11, 2026 the police department said it would "indefinitely suspend our use of fixed-point ALPR readers within our City limits, exercising our ability to cancel our contract with Flock Safety."

2 operatorsAB 481
  • Active Nevada County Sheriff Updated

    The Sheriff's 2025 military equipment report lists four Skydio X10 drones in a program the Board approved in 2024, and states an intention to seek approval for DJI Avata drones that "will fly in smaller environments such as residences."

  • Active Truckee Police Updated

    Truckee Police's 2026-27 military equipment list records four DJI drones, three of them at or nearing end of life. The 2025-26 annual summary says drones were deployed for searches, collision mapping, and "as a situational awareness resource during community events."

1 operator
  • Approved Nevada County Sheriff Updated

    The county accepted a $123,000 federal body-camera grant for the Sheriff's Office in 2018, noting a $463,079 county match, and the office issued a request for proposals in January 2021, according to the civil grand jury. The contract that followed is not in a record we fetched.

1 operator
  • Active Nevada City Police Updated

    Nevada City Police's Policy 339 governs its public-area video cameras. The chief told the City Council in February 2026 that the city uses six Flock Safety live-feed cameras in the Commercial Street area, not license plate readers, according to The Union.

Who runs it

The agency is the accountability unit: who voted, whose policy applies, and who answers a records request.

Agency Jurisdiction SB 34 policy Systems
Nevada County Sheriff's Office Nevada County 3
Grass Valley Police Department City of Grass Valley On file 2
Truckee Police Department Town of Truckee Posted 2
Nevada City Police Department City of Nevada City 1
4 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 Nevada 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.

Surveillance Self-Defense ↗

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