Miami-Dade mayors challenge Florida Flock camera ban
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Gov. Ron DeSantis has criticized Flock. Photo: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images. A Flock camera in St. Petersburg. Photo: Kathryn Varn/Axios
Some Miami-Dade mayors are pushing back on Florida's decision to ban automated license plate readers from state roads.
Why it matters: While agencies including the Miami Dade Sheriff's Office announced they would suspend the use of license plate readers, a group of seven Miami-Dade mayors sent a letter asking the DeSantis administration to reverse course.
Catch up quick: State officials issued a memo Monday requiring local cops to remove ALPRs located on state roads within 30 days. (The cameras have recently become synonymous with the brand name Flock, but they are manufactured by other companies, as well.)
- "The recent exponential increase in deployments along our roadways, coupled with concerning reports of misuse, data privacy concerns, and surveillance schemes merit immediate action," the memo says.
Since then, police leaders in Miami-Dade have rushed to discontinue use of the AI-driven license plate readers, acknowledging privacy concerns while defending their benefits to solving crime.
- "Public safety and constitutional rights are not competing values. In Miami-Dade County, we have shown that we can protect both," Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz said in a statement.
- Still, the Sheriff's Office and the Doral Police Department both said they would not only remove license plate readers from state roads but also would suspend their programs.
Friction point: In Miami Beach, which has long used license plate readers as a policing tool during spring break, Mayor Steven Meiner vowed to bring legislation to "take back control of our roads from the state."
- Meiner sent a letter to the state arguing that a blanket ban wrongly punishes "responsible cities" alongside bad actors.
- Meiner's letter — signed by the mayors of Bay Harbor, Bal Harbour, Aventura, Golden Beach, Sunny Isles Beach and Indian Creek — requests a pause on enforcement and a process for local police to continue using the cameras under enhanced state oversight.
- "I'm asking for a balanced approach with real oversight addressing privacy concerns, not an outright ban," Meiner wrote on X. "Our residents deserve both privacy and safety."
The other side: Miami-Dade commissioners Danielle Cohen Higgins and Rene Garcia supported the state's actions, NBC 6 reported.
Zoom in: Meiner told WLRN that about half of the city's roughly 40 license plate readers are on state roads.
What's next: Miami Beach Police spokesman Christopher Bess tells Axios that the department "is actively reviewing the FDOT directive and evaluating the appropriate course of action."
- The city's cameras are provided by Motorola Solutions and Axon.
- "Our priority remains ensuring that any action taken is lawful, responsible and in the best interest of the residents and visitors we serve."