Surveillance in California
88/100
California has 28,651 documented surveillance devices — roughly 73.5 per 100,000 residents.
20,596
License plate readers
3,980
CCTV cameras
3,168
DOT traffic cameras
46
Red light / speed cams
250
Gunshot detectors
611
Toll booths
Documented police technology
- 2,165 agency records in the EFF Atlas of Surveillance, covering 416 documented technology deployments
- Confirmed ShotSpotter / SoundThinking coverage zone: Yes
- Cell-site simulators (Stingray): Documented
- Federal surveillance grants: $17.2M
Most surveilled cities in California
San Francisco2,023 devices86Anaheim533 devices73Santa Ana605 devices69Irvine540 devices67Los Angeles298 devices67Oakland1,113 devices66San Diego567 devices64San Bernardino337 devices58Long Beach181 devices57San Jose650 devices54Stockton225 devices53Sacramento312 devices52Riverside273 devices50Bakersfield288 devices47Fremont184 devices42Fresno131 devices42Modesto153 devices37
Counts are documented devices from OpenStreetMap, state DOT feeds, municipal open data and the EFF Atlas of Surveillance. They are a floor, not a total — undocumented cameras are common, and a device appearing here is not confirmation it is currently operating.