California
San Joaquin County
On record
Checked 21 Aug 2026- Technologies
- 3
- Systems
- 5
- Devices mapped
- 351
San Joaquin County, California. Device data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), with community reporting via DeFlock. Open the full map →
San Joaquin County’s research pass read the Sheriff’s one-page license plate reader privacy policy, a designed sheet with no text layer that we read as a page image, the office’s 2025 military equipment report, two Organized Retail Theft grant applications filed with a state board by the Sheriff’s Office and by Tracy Police Department, and local reporting on Stockton’s Flock Safety contract. The Sheriff’s 838-page scanned policy manual, three published Lathrop police documents, every city council record behind the Stockton amendments, the two surveillance policies Tracy’s own grant application names, and any record of the gunshot detection that EFF Atlas of Surveillance rows attribute to Stockton and to Lodi all stayed open. A 2022 public records request for Stockton’s ShotSpotter data was withdrawn with no files released, so we could not establish what either city runs today.
What's in use here
The Sheriff's Office publishes a one-page license plate reader privacy policy, dated August 6, 2026, which names the office "the owner and operator of the ALPR system" and sets retention at "365 days from the date of capture." Our April 2024 snapshot of the EFF Atlas records 35 Flock Safety readers for the agency and 30-day retention. The two figures are two years apart, and we do not say which describes the system today.
In its own application to a state board for Organized Retail Theft grant funding, the Tracy Police Department states that it "purchased 46 FLOCK fixed license plate readers" in October 2022 and that it has 46 of them in the City of Tracy. The same application asks for more readers and a real time crime center. It is a request, and we found no record of an award.
Stocktonia reports that the city's Flock Safety paperwork lists a December 2021 effective date and three amendments, the most recent adding drones, extending the agreement through April 2031 and bringing its total potential value to more than $5.4 million. The City Council voted 7-0 on March 31, 2026 to approve a $3.15 million expansion. We have read no city record of the contract or of any amendment to it.
The Sheriff's military equipment report lists the office's unmanned aircraft as seven models with quantities and stated costs, including eight DJI Matrice 30T for outdoor flights, five DJI Avata for indoor flights, and one BRINC Lemur with "glass-breaker and item-dropper attachments." Two of the models are marked for training only. Its acquisitions section, headed "Intended Equipment Acquisition 2025", lists six more DJI M4TD drones, six more DJI M30T drones and a drop mechanism.
In an application to a state board for Organized Retail Theft grant funding, the Sheriff's Office asked for $2,449,087 over 44 months to buy 75 Flock cameras, Axon Fleet 3 license plate reader cameras, surveillance vehicles, four drones and ten GPS trackers. An application is a request. We found no record of an award in the documents we fetched.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office | San Joaquin County | On file | Posted | 3 |
| Stockton Police Department | City of Stockton | — | — | 1 |
| Tracy Police Department | City of Tracy | — | — | 1 |
| Lathrop Police Department | City of Lathrop | — | — | 0 |
| Lodi Police Department | City of Lodi | — | — | 0 |
| 5 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 San Joaquin 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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