Florida orders 700 Flock surveillance cameras off state roads

Transportation officials revoked automated license-plate reader permits across state highways, giving police departments 30 days to remove the devices.

Florida transportation officials have revoked all permits for automated license-plate readers installed on state-maintained highways, directing local police departments to dismantle their roadside camera networks or face state removal.¹²³

The directive, issued in a memorandum signed by Florida Department of Transportation Chief Operating Officer Will Watts, revokes general-use permits for automated license-plate recognition systems across the State Highway System, which includes interstates, U.S. routes, and state roads.⁴³ The state grounded its order in Florida Statute 316.0777, which regulates traffic-control devices on state rights-of-way.⁴ Agencies have 30 days to take down the hardware, after which the state transportation department will remove any remaining equipment.²⁴

State officials justified the blanket revocation by pointing to rapid expansion and privacy risks. In the memorandum, Watts cited an “exponential increase in deployments coupled with concerning reports of misuse, data privacy concerns and surveillance schemes,” stating that immediate action was required to protect public privacy.⁵³⁶

Local agencies react to highway removals

The state order applies strictly to state-controlled corridors, leaving county roads, municipal streets, and private commercial properties outside the department's direct jurisdiction.⁴⁵³ Even so, the directive triggered immediate shutdowns across multiple Central Florida jurisdictions and surrounding counties.

In Duval County, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office voluntarily ended all license-plate reader operations across its entire jurisdiction of one million residents.³⁴ Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood announced an immediate countywide shutdown of the readers, arguing that state actions made the systems unworkable in Florida while warning that losing the devices would hinder investigations.²⁶ In Lake County, commissioners voted to pull license-plate readers from county streets following a public meeting.⁶ Municipalities across Seminole and Lake counties, including Oviedo, Sanford, Lake Mary, and Clermont, moved to pause or terminate their camera programs.⁶

The Orange County Sheriff's Office, which operates 160 cameras at an annual cost of $158,000, stated that it will comply with the highway order while continuing to deploy cameras in permitted municipal and county locations.⁶

Mounting scrutiny over tracking networks

The cameras, supplied primarily by Atlanta-based Flock Safety alongside competing manufacturers, photograph passing traffic to log license plates, vehicle color, make, model, and distinct exterior markings.⁶³ The systems upload data into networked search pools accessible by law enforcement agencies across jurisdictions, a feature that has drawn escalating pushback over potential abuse and warrant-free monitoring.³²

Governor Ron DeSantis criticized the spread of the technology as out of control, pointing to documented incidents where officers improperly accessed records to track individuals.⁴⁶ During a recent broadcast appearance, DeSantis questioned whether the hardware captures vehicle occupants beyond plate numbers and argued that state rights-of-way should be cleared.

The regulatory reversal comes despite earlier state financial backing for the systems. Over the past year, the State Board of Immigration Enforcement allocated nearly $6.5 million to purchase at least 547 high-tech license-plate readers for Florida law enforcement agencies, including trailer-mounted units and vehicle-mounted hardware.⁶

A national pushback against road surveillance

The decision in Florida aligns with broader state-level actions scrutinizing automated tracking vendors. Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently directed a halt to state funding for Flock programs.³⁵ Nationally, more than 100 local governments have canceled or declined to renew license-plate reader contracts since early 2025.³

Flock Safety defended the investigative utility of its hardware, noting that its systems assist law enforcement in locating missing persons, recovering stolen vehicles, and apprehending violent suspects.³ The company stated that it supports state legislative guardrails and accountability measures rather than outright bans on highway rights-of-way, pointing to recently shortened data-retention schedules as evidence of ongoing privacy revisions.³

Reporting note: this piece draws on public records and verified reporting regarding the Florida Department of Transportation memorandum of August 31, 2026, alongside statements from state officials, county sheriffs, and Flock Safety.

Source: Florida Department of Transportation via Bloomberg, September 1, 2026.

References

This article is based on 6 sources, listed in the order they are cited.

1. 1 B bloomberg.com announcement · 1 Sep 2026 Florida Bans License-Plate Readers on State Roads See the source
2. 2 W WESH third party · 31 Aug 2026 All license plate readers must be removed from state-maintained roads, FDOT says See the source
3. 3 NN NBC News third party · 31 Aug 2026 Florida bans Flock cameras and other license plate readers from state highways See the source
4. 4 G gadgetreview.com third party · 1 Sep 2026 Gov. DeSantis Orders 700 Flock Cameras Off Florida State Roads See the source
5. 5 T Townhall third party · 1 Sep 2026 Florida to Take Down Flock Camera on All State Roads See the source
6. 6 O orlandosentinel.com Florida’s de-Flocking: After state order, Central Florida municipalities end use of high-tech cameras See the source

Article history

1. Update 1 Sep 2026, 22:14

   This article was updated to reflect revised text and images.

2. Published 1 Sep 2026, 22:14
   Assembled by the Primary desk from 6 sources · 19 cited sentences