Local agencies scramble to remove Flock cameras from Florida state roads before deadline

FDOT gave agencies 30 days to remove the equipment. The deadline is Sept. 30.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — With one week remaining before Florida’s deadline to remove automated license plate readers from state highway rights of way, local law enforcement agencies across the Tampa Bay area are working to remove affected cameras.

The Florida Department of Transportation revoked permits for automated license plate readers on state highway rights of way and gave agencies 30 days to remove the equipment. The deadline is Sept. 30.

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The order applies to automated license plate recognition systems, including Flock cameras, located within the state highway system’s right of way.

10 Tampa Bay News contacted 18 law enforcement agencies across the Tampa Bay area, including sheriff’s offices and police departments. Among the agencies that responded and have cameras affected by the order, most said Flock is responsible for removing the equipment.

Here’s where local agencies stand:

St. Petersburg Police Department: Identified five Flock cameras on state property or rights of way. One was knocked down in a crash, and Flock has removed another. The three remaining cameras have been deactivated, and the department says Flock is in the process of removing the poles.Tampa Police Department: Said all 17 Flock cameras it had on state property have been removed.Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office: Said all but one affected camera has been removed. The final camera is scheduled to come down Friday.Lakeland Police Department: Said the majority of its Flock cameras on state property have been removed, with the remainder expected to be removed by the deadline.Clearwater Police Department: Said it has requested Flock remove 14 cameras located on FDOT property, saying it is Flock’s responsibility to remove them.Pasco County Sheriff’s Office: Said it previously had 70 Flock cameras, but all were being removed before FDOT issued its order. The cameras are being removed by the vendor.Citrus County: Said it discontinued use of all automated license plate readers as of Aug. 31 and does not have a Flock contract.Lake Wales Police Department: Said all license plate readers will be removed by the deadline, meeting the state’s 30-day timeframe.Sarasota Police Department: Said it will meet the deadline and that Flock is responsible for ensuring the cameras are removed.

Flock Safety, the company that operates the cameras, said it is working with agencies to meet the deadline.

“Flock is working with agencies and is on track to have all LPR cameras relocated or removed by the deadline,” a Flock spokesperson said.

Questions remain over cameras that are deactivated.

The status of cameras that have been deactivated but remain physically in place is less clear.

In St. Petersburg, for example, three cameras remain standing but have been deactivated while Flock works to remove the poles.

The distinction matters because it may be possible to see a Flock camera still standing along a state road after Sept. 30 even if it is no longer operating.

Neighbor Johnny Johnson said he watched a crew recently remove two Flock cameras outside the strip mall where he works.

“They just came on a ladder and took them off. Literally like, two days ago,” Johnson said.

Johnson said he viewed the cameras negatively.

“Invading the privacy. I think so. Knowing where you’re at every time, you know?” he said.

Neighbor Ella Reiss said she wants to see the remaining cameras physically removed.

“I would love to see them actually taken down,” Reiss said.

When asked how the public could know whether a camera had actually been deactivated, Reiss questioned whether there was a way to verify it.

“Exactly how would you know? How can you trust that?” she said.

10 Tampa Bay News reached out to FDOT as referred by the governor’s office for clarification about whether a deactivated camera that remains standing would satisfy the state’s order. Responses were not immediately available.

Florida law provides that an automated license plate recognition system installed within the state highway system right of way must be removed within 30 days after FDOT notifies the requesting law enforcement agency that removal is required.

The law also says installation and removal are at the expense of the requesting law enforcement agency.

For now, Flock says it is on track to have all affected cameras relocated or removed by the Sept. 30 deadline.

That means a camera or pole still standing after the deadline would not necessarily indicate that the system is still operating. But physically removing the equipment remains the stated goal of those who want the cameras taken down.