An interactive visualization mapping police surveillance capabilities across the United States, integrating data from multiple authoritative sources.
- Interactive Map: Pan, zoom, and click on locations to explore surveillance data
- Multi-Source Data Integration:
- EFF Atlas of Surveillance (14,000+ records, 2024-2025)
- Federal Contracts & Grants from USASpending.gov (2025)
- DoD 1033 Program military equipment transfers
- FBI/DHS surveillance flight paths
- Technology Filtering: Toggle 19 surveillance technology categories
- Search & Filter: By city, state, agency, or vendor
- Data Explorer: View raw data with export to CSV
- Flight Path Visualization: FBI (red) and DHS (blue) aircraft tracking
| Category | Color | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Body Cameras | Blue | Axon, WatchGuard |
| License Plate Readers | Orange | Flock Safety, Vigilant |
| Facial Recognition | Pink | Clearview AI, NEC |
| Drones/UAV | Yellow | DJI, senseFly |
| Gunshot Detection | Red | ShotSpotter/SoundThinking |
| Cell Site Simulators | Purple | Stingray, Hailstorm |
| Third-party Investigative Platforms | Orange | Palantir, LexisNexis |
| Camera Registry | Light Blue | Ring, Fusus |
| Video Analytics | Light Purple | BriefCam, Verkada |
| Fusion Center | Pink | Information sharing centers |
| Real-Time Crime Centers | Pink | RTCC, command centers |
| Predictive Policing | Orange | PredPol, HunchLab |
| Social Media Monitoring | Blue | Geofeedia, Media Sonar |
| Phone Forensics | Green | Cellebrite, GrayKey |
| Night Vision/Thermal | White | FLIR, NVG equipment |
| Military Vehicles | Gray | MRAPs, armored vehicles |
| Aircraft | Light Blue | Helicopters, fixed-wing |
- EFF Atlas of Surveillance - Electronic Frontier Foundation's crowd-sourced database with rigorous source documentation
- USASpending.gov - Official federal spending data for contracts and grants
- Washington Post 1033 Program Data - FOIA-obtained military surplus transfers
- BuzzFeed Surveillance Planes - FBI/DHS aircraft tracking data
surveillance-capabilities-map/
├── surveillance-map-final.html # Main application
├── atlas-of-surveillance.csv # EFF Atlas data
├── surveillance-contracts.csv # Federal contracts
├── surveillance-grants.csv # Federal grants
├── wapo-1033-data.csv # 1033 Program equipment
├── flight_paths.json # FBI/DHS flight data
├── city_coords.json # Geocoding database (474k+ cities)
└── *.py # Data processing scripts
- Clone the repository
- Start a local server:
python -m http.server 8080
- Open
http://localhost:8080/surveillance-map-final.html
- EFF Atlas: Rigorously documented with source citations (news articles, FOIA requests, official documents)
- Federal Spending: Direct from USASpending.gov (official government source)
- 1033 Program: Washington Post FOIA requests
- Geocoding: 96.8% coverage with 474,000+ city coordinates
- 2025-11-16: Added 6 new technology categories, fixed 351 geocoding issues
- Added Third-party Investigative Platforms, Camera Registry (Ring), Video Analytics
- Improved township/borough recognition
- Added US territory support (PR, GU, VI)
This project aims to increase transparency around police surveillance capabilities. All data is sourced from:
- Public records and FOIA requests
- Official government databases
- Investigative journalism
- Academic research
No personal information is collected or displayed.
Data sources retain their original licenses. Code is provided for educational and research purposes.
Contributions welcome! Please ensure any data additions include proper source documentation.
- Electronic Frontier Foundation for the Atlas of Surveillance
- BuzzFeed News for surveillance aircraft investigation
- Washington Post for 1033 Program analysis
- USASpending.gov for federal spending transparency
Made with Love from Ringmast4r 😘