St. Lucie County moves forward with license plate camera removal

St. Lucie County staff are updating commissioners on the removal of automated license plate readers from county-maintained roads following a recent vote.

Rachel WilliamsST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. —

St. Lucie County staff are providing updates to commissioners tonight on the removal of automated license plate readers, including Flock cameras, from county-maintained roads after a vote earlier this month.

Erick Gill, communications director for St. Lucie County, said letters were sent earlier this week to all permit holders, notifying them of the decision and giving them 30 days to remove the cameras.

“Earlier this week, letters went out to all the permit holders, whether some of those were permits were submitted on the behalf of law enforcement agencies, some were directly manufacturers of those cameras. So, they were notified this week and have 30 days to remove those cameras from the St. Lucie County right-of-ways,” Gill said.

County right-of-ways include the shoulders of highways and roads maintained by the county. Gill said there were about 50 to 55 permits issued for the cameras.

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If permit holders fail to remove the cameras within the 30-day period, county staff will step in to remove them.

“I’m sure the permit owners going to want to do that because…I’m sure there’s value to these cameras that they don’t want damaged, and they did the installations, so we’re going to make sure they comply with the 30-day rule, or we’ll begin the process of removing them ourselves,” Gill said.

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Some St. Lucie County residents expressed opposition to the surveillance cameras.

“I’m not happy about them. I think they are too intrusive and they might really impede our freedom,” said Toria Hoke, a St. Lucie County resident.

Another resident, Herman Felton, shared similar concerns.

“I think it’s a spy on the city…it’s spying on the people, that’s what I think it is,” Felton said.

However, Felton also acknowledged the cameras could be useful in certain situations.

“It’s good in one area, and it’s not so good in another area because people have their privacy…you can’t invade on their privacy. Whatever they’re doing at their house is their business,” he said.

County leaders clarified that the removal of the cameras from public roads does not mean they are banned entirely. Cameras can still be installed on private property or non-maintained rights-of-way.