Who flies surveillance drones in Placer County?
What we do not know
Placer County Sheriff
- How often each aircraft has flown, for what, and at what cost.
- Whether an annual public safety equipment report is published, and what it says.
- When each model in the 2025 inventory was acquired.
Placer County Probation
- Flight logs by purpose and the number of flights over encampments.
- The annual AB 481 report for the department.
- Who approved the purchase and when.
Placer County DA
- Flight logs and the annual AB 481 report.
- The text of PCDA policy 606, which governs drone use.
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 Placer County.
Go to the Placer 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 ↗