After DeSantis order, Florida police drop Flock cameras — but not in Tampa Bay
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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
Within hours of the DeSantis administration's order to remove Flock cameras from state roads, some Florida law enforcement leaders went even further, opting to stop using the devices altogether.
Why it matters: That hasn't been the case so far for Tampa Bay's largest police agencies.
State of play: The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office will comply with the Florida Department of Transportation order but has no plans for a broader overhaul, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri told Axios on Tuesday.
- Tampa police Acting Chief Brett Owen took a similar stance. The department also issued a fact sheet saying the cameras helped lead to 622 arrests and locate 14 missing people, among other stats.
- A Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office spokesperson said that agency will comply with the order but didn't indicate any larger changes to its automated license plate reader (ALPR) camera program.
- In St. Petersburg, where use of Flock cameras has become an issue in the mayor's race, the police department will remove six cameras on state roadways but will not make any other changes, spokesperson Yolanda Fernandez said.
Catch up quick: State officials issued a memo Monday requiring local law enforcement to remove ALPRs located on state roads within 30 days. (The cameras are known by the brand name Flock but are also manufactured by other companies.)
- "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.
- Gov. Ron DeSantis also criticized the technology at a news conference Monday. "I don't want to have this become a surveillance state," he said.
Since then, sheriffs from the Panhandle to Jacksonville to Miami-Dade have rushed to discontinue use of the AI-driven cameras, with some saying they'll wait to see whether state lawmakers intervene.
The other side: "There's just a lot of misinformation about what these things are and what they're not," Pinellas Sheriff Gualtieri told Axios.
- He declined to comment further, saying he may hold a news conference this week to elaborate.
What's next: Gualtieri is set to make a presentation about ALPRs at a meeting Oct. 8, said Commissioner Brian Scott, who requested the discussion after hearing privacy concerns from numerous constituents.
- "My goal is just to get information … and then decide where to go from there," he said, although he acknowledged the county has limited power over the sheriff's office.
- "People have legitimate concerns about [the technology]," Scott said, "and I do too."
Yacob Reyes contributed to this report.