Idaho
Ada County
On record
Checked 16 Sept 2026- Technologies
- 2
- Systems
- 2
- Devices mapped
- 176
Ada County, Idaho. Device data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), with community reporting via DeFlock. Open the full map →
Volunteers have mapped 176 devices in Ada County, 119 of them license plate readers. The Ada County Sheriff’s Office polices unincorporated Ada County and, under contract, the cities of Eagle, Star and Kuna. In August 2026 the Sheriff told a Boise television station that his office had installed 20 Axon plate reader cameras across the county. The station reported that the seven in Kuna came down on 8 September after the mayor asked.
We read the Kuna City Council’s agendas and minutes from 2023 to September 2026, 204 documents, and Idaho’s plate reader law. The Board of County Commissioners’ record and the Sheriff’s Office’s own pages are unread, so nothing on this page says what the county board has or has not approved.
The Sheriff’s plate readers
KIVI reported in August 2026 that the Sheriff’s Office had installed 20 Axon cameras, that images are kept for 60 days, and that the subscription costs $2,296.39 a year per camera. After residents objected, Kuna’s mayor asked the office to remove the cameras in Kuna, and KIVI reports they came down on 8 September. A month before the cameras went up, a resident asked the Kuna council in public comment to schedule a public discussion of plate readers. Through 15 September 2026 no council agenda listed one, and none of Kuna’s council agendas from April 2023 onward carried an item on plate readers or cameras. Axon plate readers has the details.
Drones
Sheriff Matt Clifford told the Kuna City Council in March 2024 that his office has “a large drone program”. The EFF Atlas of Surveillance records DJI drones at the office since 2017. Drones has the details.
Idaho’s plate reader law
Since July 2025, Idaho Code 49-1432 limits law enforcement use of plate readers to investigating crimes and traffic accidents and finding missing or endangered people. It requires access controls, training, a log of every search and an audit of that log twice a year. It sets no limit on how long reads are kept and does not require a city council or county board to approve a system.
What this page does not cover
Boise, Meridian and Garden City run their own police departments. The EFF Atlas records drones for Boise and Meridian police and a Flock plate reader entry for Meridian, and the Idaho State Police’s intelligence center, the state’s fusion center, is in Meridian. Their records are unread. So is the Board of County Commissioners’ record, where any county contract for the Sheriff’s cameras would appear.
What's in use here
In March 2024 the Sheriff told the Kuna City Council that his office has a large drone program. The EFF Atlas of Surveillance records DJI drones at the office since 2017.
In August 2026 the Sheriff told a Boise television station that his office had installed 20 Axon plate reader cameras across the county, seven of them in Kuna. After Kuna's mayor asked, the Kuna cameras came down on 8 September.
Who approves it
These systems were approved by boards, councils and committees that meet in public. We have confirmed where they meet and how comment works.
Who runs it
The agency is the accountability unit: who voted, whose policy applies, and who answers a records request.
| Agency | Jurisdiction | Systems |
|---|---|---|
| Ada County Sheriff's Office | Ada County | 2 |
| 1 agency on record. A jointly run system counts against each of its operators, so this column is not a county total. | ||
Cities
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. The hub says what to expect in each room, how long you get to speak, and where to check the schedule before you go.
How to show up in Ada County →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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