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Nevada City Police | Public safety video cameras

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.

At a glance

Published policy
Policy 339, Public Safety Video Surveillance System [1]
Scope stated
Overt, marked cameras in public areas [1]
Cameras, per reporting
6, on the Assay Office in the Commercial Street area [2]
Vendor, per reporting
Flock Safety live-feed cameras [2]
Retention, per reporting
"a certain amount of time, such as 30 days," per the chief [2]
License plate reader policy
None listed in the manual contents [1]

How it happened

  1. Debate

    Chief addresses the council on the cameras

    The Union reported that Chief Dan Foss, asked about federal immigration agencies' access to Flock cameras, said the city uses only a live-feed camera, "similar to a Ring doorbell, but more advanced," that "Nevada City has six cameras," and that the cameras "cannot share data." [2]

  2. Context

    Policy 339 in the published manual

    The Nevada City Police Department operates a public safety video surveillance system to complement its anti-crime strategy, to effectively allocate and deploy personnel, and to enhance public safety and security in public areas. [1]

What the policy says

Policy 339 “provides guidance for the placement and monitoring of department public safety video surveillance, as well as the storage and release of the captured images,” and “only applies to overt, marked public safety video surveillance systems operated by the Department.” It states that the department “operates a public safety video surveillance system to complement its anti-crime strategy, to effectively allocate and deploy personnel, and to enhance public safety and security in public areas.”[1]

What was reported

The Union reported on February 17, 2026 that Chief Dan Foss, asked by the council about federal immigration agencies’ access to Flock cameras, said “Flock is a brand as opposed to a technology service,” that the city “only uses a live feed camera, ‘similar to a Ring doorbell, but more advanced,’” that “Nevada City has six cameras,” that a live-feed camera “records a certain amount of time, such as 30 days,” and that the cameras “cannot share data.” The cameras sit on the Assay Office in the Commercial Street area, per the same report.[2]

What is not established

The policy itself states no vendor, count, locations or retention period; those figures rest on the chief’s statements as reported. The contract and the council item approving the cameras are the subject of a records request. The manual’s table of contents lists no license plate reader policy.

Questions

Does Nevada City use license plate readers?
The department's published manual lists no license plate reader policy, and the chief told the council in February 2026 that the cameras "are not tracking vehicles," according to The Union. Policy 339 governs overt public-area video cameras. [1] [2]
What does the policy cover?
It "only applies to overt, marked public safety video surveillance systems operated by the Department," not to mobile, covert, or other image-capturing devices. [1]

On the map

The community has mapped 150 devices of this type in the county on OpenStreetMap. These are community reports: the vendor and operator of each point are unverified, and none is confirmed to belong to this system. See them on the map →

Street names from reverse geocoding — © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

What we do not know

What you can do

Show up

Systems like this one are approved by boards, councils and committees that meet in public. We have not yet confirmed where each of them meets in Nevada County.

What we have documented in Nevada County →

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 →

Sources

  1. 1.
    Nevada City Police Department Policy Manual, Policy 339, Public Safety Video Surveillance System · Primary document · accessed · archived copy
  2. 2.
    The Union, "A balance between freedoms, safety, and security: Nevada City Police Chief clarifies use of technology" · News · · accessed · archived copy

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