LOCAL SURVEILLANCE · WINNEBAGO COUNTY / ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS
County and city records document overlapping ALPR networks, aerial surveillance, body-worn video, fixed cameras, and investigative software.
WINNEBAGO COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
Winnebago County approved a five-year agreement with Flock Group in May 2024 for license-plate readers deployed throughout the county. The appropriation was $719,250, with $174,250 for the first year and $136,250 for each subsequent year.
The county's executive summary identifies the Federal Seizure account as the funding source for the initial unbudgeted appropriation.
Illinois' SFY 2024 drone report lists the Sheriff's Department as owning nine drones and reports 13 flights in the reporting data, including search, event-overwatch, damage-assessment, and crash-reconstruction uses.
EFF's Atlas of Surveillance reports 44 Winnebago County Sheriff's Office Flock readers as of September 2025. The underlying records used for that count are not included in NoRec's published source set.
ROCKFORD POLICE DEPARTMENT
Rockford approved a $443,998.16 sole-source Flock contract in 2026. The city's supporting memorandum says earlier retail-crime grants funded Flock Operating System software, Flock license-plate readers, and Flock PTZ cameras for the Police Department Intelligence Unit.
Rockford's crime-reduction page states the city purchased more than 150 mobile and stationary license-plate readers.
Rockford's body-camera policy requires recordings to be uploaded through AXON docking stations and stored in a secure web-based digital-media system.
The SFY 2024 statewide drone report records six Rockford Police Department drones and eight flights during the reporting period.
The city reports that it quadrupled the number of cameras in high-traffic and high-crime areas.
Rockford lists gunshot-detection software among its enforcement technology. A 2022 City Council action also approved a Flock package containing gunshot detection and 64 license-plate readers.
The city states it instituted social-analytic software to track criminal use of social media. The current public page does not identify the vendor or product.
A 2026 grant action states FY2027 organized-retail-crime funding will partially cover annual subscription fees for Flock Safety License Plate Reader Video Wing Enhanced.
UNRESOLVED