TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Commissioners are once again set to discuss automated license plate readers (ALPR) like Flock at next week’s commission meeting.
This is back on the city’s agenda after Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered the cameras removed from state roadways. During the city’s last meeting, Chief Lawrence Revell defended the cameras’ usefulness, particularly for burglaries, missing persons, and solving several violent crimes.
According to the agenda item, the city operates 75 Vigilant-brand license plate cameras and 80 by Flock. At the last meeting, Commissioner Jeremy Matlow made a motion to end the city’s contract with Flock, citing privacy concerns.
That motion failed 3 to 2.
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The report goes on to say the cameras helped solve multiple attempted murder or homicide cases in Tallahassee between 2022 and 2026. That includes the 2022 FAMU basketball court shooting and another homicide last year on Texas Street.
TPD says license plate readers helped them match suspects with vehicles in both of those cases. The report continues that the camera data can be kept up to 30 days and audited regularly for inappropriate use.
Last week, Revell stood firm in his stance on the cameras.
The Supreme Court has ruled in at least in over 20 different cases that there is no expectation of privacy in public places. So, when people say this is a constitutional issue, it is clearly not. It does have to do with our privacy and we do need to have those discussions and how much we want technology to be involved in that.
The new transparency portal launched last week says more than 1,300 camera searches were made in the past month for investigative purposes.
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