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ORWELL INDEX

Who runs license plate readers in San Diego County?

On the map

0
Verified by us
1459
Community-reported

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), including community reporting via the DeFlock project. Tiles by OpenFreeMap.

What we do not know

El Cajon PD

  • What El Cajon says in its own words. We have read nothing written by the city, and its Answer is not published by the state.
  • How the case was decided. We found no ruling after 21 January 2026.
  • How many cameras the department operates, at what cost, and which council item approved them.
  • What the department's transparency portal shows now.

What license plate readers are

An automated license plate reader photographs every passing vehicle and records the plate, the time and the place. It does not watch suspects. It logs everyone, and the record is usually kept on a vendor’s servers.

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 San Diego County.

Go to the San Diego 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 ↗