Florida’s Putnam County Sheriff H.D. ‘Gator’ DeLoach has directed automated license plate reader cameras to be disconnected “immediately,” citing concerns from the community over questions of privacy and data sharing.
These cameras have been popping up nationwide at warp speed, and Flock surveillance cameras, specifically, have peppered counties across the state of Florida, prompting attention from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who said residents are right to be “concerned” about it. DeSantis said it is “out of control” and that we “don’t want to have this become a surveillance state,” acknowledging the instances of abuse like a “police officer using this to track” an ex-girlfriend.
“I think that’s important that we do that, and no one’s been stronger on law enforcement than me. But I don’t want to have this become a surveillance state. I don’t want there to be a situation — and that’s why we wanted an AI bill of rights,” DeSantis told reporters.
Communities across the Sunshine State have voiced their concerns, and the Putnam County Sheriff took feedback from his community seriously, directing ALPRs in his county — 18, to be exact — to be “disconnected immediately and removed within 30 days,” according to the sheriff’s office.
“Over the past several weeks, legitimate questions have continued to emerge regarding privacy, data sharing, governmental oversight, and the future regulation of this technology,” DeLoach said in a statement posted on the police department’s Facebook page. “I believe the responsible course is to discontinue our program and cancel our contract at this time.”
He said it was “not a decision I made lightly,” acknowledging the technology as a “valuable law-enforcement tool.”
He continued, “but I have become increasingly concerned that the technology is advancing faster than the laws and regulations governing its use.”
“Until that framework catches up and provides clearer, more consistent safeguards for both public safety and individual privacy, I believe discontinuing the program is the most responsible course for our agency and the community we serve.”
“Automated license plate readers are an effective law-enforcement tool, and I’ve seen firsthand how they can help us locate dangerous offenders, recover stolen vehicles, kidnapping victims, and solve serious crimes. I also believe, however, that effective law enforcement requires the trust and confidence of the people we serve,” he continued, as the announcement listed a few instances of the technology helping law enforcement.
“At the sheriff’s office extensive protocols were in place to ensure proper usage of ALPRs including a case number associated with use and quarterly audits of information being accessed. However, camera usage by other law enforcement agencies and private residents have opened up situations of misuse nationwide,” the sheriff’s office said, as the sheriff added that the removal of the technology is not a reflection on his deputies.
“I remain confident that our deputies used this technology lawfully, responsibly, and in accordance with some of the strongest safeguards we could put in place. This decision is not an indictment of their work, nor does it mean the technology has no legitimate law-enforcement value. It simply means that when the rules, public expectations, and regulatory environment surrounding a technology are changing this rapidly, we should be willing to reevaluate whether continuing to use it is in the best interest of our community,” DeLoach said, concluding that “individual liberty” matters along with public safety.
“Public safety matters. So does individual liberty. Neither should be treated casually,” DeLoach said.
DeLoach’s decision contrasts that of the sheriff in the neighboring county of St Johns, as Sheriff Robert Hardwick has wholly dismissed concerns over Flock surveillance cameras in his county as ignorance, comparing efforts to “deFlock” with cities that want to defund the police.
“If you look at the cities that are removing Flock, those are the same exact cities, in the same exact states that defund the police department, turn our backs on us when one incident occurs,” he told The 904 Now, asserting, “A little bit of it is ignorance and misinformation of what it truly is.”
Of the information, he claimed, “It’s mine. I own it. I choose to do what I want to do with the information… We only share it with surrounding counties.” However, he admitted they also share it with the FBI but claimed they have “very tight parameters.”
There have been well-documented instances of abuse with this technology. For instance, four former Savannah Police Department employees — including three officers in neighboring state Georgia — were arrested after a Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) probe into misuse of the department’s Flock camera system. Over in South Carolina, a police department fired an officer after she allegedly used the Flock camera system to “run a former romantic partner’s license plate 166 times.”
