TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Law enforcement technology has been under the close eye of the public for years, and data collection, specifically, over the last few months.
The Tampa Police Department wants data collection software to help streamline searches and analyze data they already have faster.
Peregrine is a data integration software. It’s not a camera or surveillance system, and they don’t create new data. It’s already being used by agencies throughout the Tampa Bay Area.
“It’s a time-saving tool that allows us to make critical decisions that will save lives,” said Jodie Fiske, the Director of Public Safety in Manatee County.
Fiske showed the dashboard at the Manatee County Public Safety Center, showing what the software does, taking data and streamlining it for more efficient use of resources.
“We are going to be one of the first jurisdictions in the state to have every single responding agency looking at the same information at the same time. That’s huge,” Fiske said.
Now, Tampa PD wants the technology. The State Attorney’s Office issued them a grant. TPD Deputy Chief Eric DeFelice went in front of the Tampa City Council explaining what the software is not.
“It is not a camera or a surveillance system,” DeFelice said. “It is a software program that allows us to integrate our data into it, and then it collects its assets, sorts it, and puts it out to us to allow us better utilize our resources and connect the dots.”
8 On Your Side asked Peregrine directly.
“We don’t have cameras,” Peregrine said. “We don’t have sensors. We don’t put anything out in the field that watches anybody. We are merely using the data that a department already has, and making that data that they legally have access to, that they have access to because city council has approved them having access to allow them to use that data more effectively to keep people safe,” said Tim Shriver with Peregrine.
But the city council wants to know more.
“Does this have anything to do with ICE and what’s happening on the federal level? I’ve been told no; I just want a clear answer on that?” asked Council Member Luis Viera.
“It does not,” DeFelice said.
“Okay. Because that’s very important to me; if it did, I wouldn’t vote no. I’d vote hell no,” Viera said.
Peregrine said they have no relations with ICE, and that ICE is not a customer of theirs, but they explained how their data sharing works.
“That data only gets shared with another agency by Peregrine if we’re directly told to do so,” Shriver said.
The council wants to meet with TPD individually to learn more about how they’ll use the software. They will vote on approving the grant and the contract in November.
For Manatee Public Safety, it’s already helped with hurricane response, recent summer storms, and monitoring water levels.
“Do it,” Fiske said. “We get people back to normal. If you want your jurisdiction to be doing that in the most effective way possible. This is a game changer.”
TPD sent the following statement on the software:
“The Tampa Police Department remains committed to evaluating and using technology that improves our effectiveness to help keep our community safe. Peregrine software provides the department with a way to streamline searches and analyze information the department already has access to within a single system. For example, during a hurricane, large-scale events, or heavily visited areas like Ybor, supervisors could use the system to view calls for service, officer locations, and available assets in one place, allowing them to make real-time decisions about the deployment of personnel and resources. The software can also assist investigators and analysts by making it easier to identify connections and share critical information during criminal investigations. The goal of implementing this technology is to use information and resources already available to more efficiently fulfill our mission of improving quality of life and making Tampa safer together.”
The Largo Pollice Department sent the following statement on the software:
” The Largo Police Department has been using Peregrine since February 2025. This system allows law enforcement agencies to share their data with each other to ensure information that can help with solving crimes is not overlooked or missed.”
Pinellas County Safety and Emergency Services sent the following statement:
“The Pinellas County Safety and Emergency Services Department utilizes Peregrine software as an efficiency tool for quality assurance. The software helps determine trends like spikes in heat related illness, EMS and Fire response times, and dispatch call taking times. Ultimately, the software provides timely data to continuously improve the EMS system. Utilizing the software, staff can seamlessly aggregate data from multiple systems; previously staff manually gathered the data from several disparate sources. The data is stored within a closed system and only accessible to emergency services personnel with proper permissions.”
Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office sent the following statement:
“We use Peregrine. It is a data-integration tool. It combines the data from different resources into a single platform. Peregrine creates efficiencies because investigators have access to data in one place as opposed to information silos.”
The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office told 8 On Your Side that they do not use Peregrine.
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