The ever-­growing army of self-­driving vehicles quietly traveling through our cities are becoming something far more than just driverless vehicles—they’re morphing into the most sophisticated mobile surveillance network law enforcement has ever had. Police departments across America are increasingly tapping into the 360-­degree, always-­recording cameras of autonomous vehicles to investigate crimes, creating what privacy advocates warn is an end-­run around traditional surveillance restrictions. From solving hit-­and-­runs in Los Angeles to tracking kidnapping suspects in Arizona, these mobile mass surveillance devices are revolutionizing policing while raising alarming questions about privacy in public spaces.

In April 2025, the Los Angeles Police Department turned to an unorthodox tool to solve a hit-­and-­run: footage from a Waymo driverless car. After obtaining a warrant, the department released the video on its YouTube channel, asking the public to help identify a driver who struck a pedestrian and fled. The case highlights how law enforcement agencies are increasingly relying on autonomous vehicles as mobile surveillance tools—a practice that legal experts warn could dramatically expand law enforcement surveillance capabilities with minimal public oversight.

Police in several U.S. cities, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, and parts of Arizona, have begun requesting data from the growing fleets of driverless cars operated by Waymo, Cruise, and other companies. According to a 2023 Bloomberg report, San Francisco Police Department (“SFPD”) officers have requested footage from autonomous vehicles for crimes ranging from hit-­and-­runs to homicides, with at least nine warrants served to Waymo and Cruise in San Francisco and Maricopa County, Arizona, as of July 2023.

These vehicles represent a surveillance goldmine. Equipped with 360-­degree high-­resolution cameras, lidar, and radar systems, a single autonomous vehicle can capture vast amounts of data, though exact figures vary by company and are not publicly detailed. Unlike stationary cameras, they constantly move through communities, creating dynamic maps of public spaces.

While companies like Waymo insist they require search warrants for footage, based on probable cause and judicial approval, the legal framework for accessing autonomous vehicle data remains unsettled. A 2022 analysis by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (“EFF”) noted that few states have specific laws governing law enforcement access to such data, leaving gaps in oversight. In Arizona, where Waymo operates extensively, police must typically obtain a search warrant to access footage, as required by state law for electronic records and consistent with Fourth Amendment protections. 

Privacy advocates warn about “mission creep.” “What starts as investigating hit-­and-­runs could easily expand to tracking protesters or monitoring everyday activities,” cautions Dave Maass of the EFF. A 2022 SFPD training document obtained by Vice revealed that officers have used autonomous vehicle footage “several times” for investigations, though specific cases beyond traffic incidents or serious crimes like homicide are not detailed in public records.

Tech companies walk a fine line between cooperating with law enforcement and protecting user privacy. Waymo publishes transparency reports about data requests, stating it blurs license plates and faces in footage to protect bystanders. Competitors like Zoox and Motional, however, do not disclose how often they provide footage to police. Industry practices suggest most autonomous vehicle companies retain data for weeks to months, often longer than necessary for operational purposes, according to privacy researchers.

The lack of standardization concerns experts. “Every company has different data retention policies, different camera capabilities, and different standards for complying with police requests,” explains Sarah Holland, a researcher at Data & Society. “This creates a patchwork system with little accountability.”

As the technology advances, so do its applications. Some departments are experimenting with access to autonomous vehicle feeds during active emergencies. In Chandler, Arizona, police used a Waymo car’s camera footage to track an attempted kidnapping suspect in 2023, raising questions about whether such use constitutes a “search” under the Fourth Amendment.

With an estimated 200,000 driverless vehicles expected on U.S. roads by 2027, the debate over their mass mobile surveillance potential is just beginning. While proponents argue the technology makes communities safer, civil rights groups warn it could normalize unprecedented levels of public monitoring without proper safeguards. 

Autonomous vehicles are revolutionizing policing, providing high-­quality evidence for crimes. Yet this powerful tool comes at a cost: the potential normalization of mass surveillance in public spaces. Unlike stationary cameras, these mobile recording devices create detailed, ever-­changing maps of our communities—capturing not just crimes but the ordinary lives of citizens going about their daily life. The path we choose now will determine whether these vehicles become tools for justice or instruments of further mass surveillance.   

Sources: 404 Media, Bloomberg, Vice, Electronic Frontier Foundation, ABC15

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