\u201cI think JSO is probably going to say these devices save lives. They can help people. I\u2019m not disputing that. I think they could. I also think they could be a constitutional abuse,\u201d Peluso said. \u201cI think they could be concerning to residents. And I think we give residents the power to ask themselves as a community whether or not they want these.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peluso says he intends to file legislation that would make several changes to the city\u2019s and JSO\u2019s Flock camera policy:<\/p>\n
A 120-day moratorium on new Flock cameras while the city creates an internal permitting process,<\/p>\n
Reporting requirements including an official city inventory system of the cameras,<\/p>\n
Requirements for CPAC approval prior to installation in the areas where a new camera is proposed,<\/p>\n
A petition process for residents to get them removed, similar to the city\u2019s system for speed humps.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260805_091449-1.webp\")
This Flock camera on Hendricks Avenue has a solar panel on top to power it, plus electronics and the actual camera underneath. | Dan Scanlan, Jacksonville Today<\/p>\n
JSO\u2019s Flock use<\/p>\n
Peluso says he\u2019s been in contact with JSO about his pending legislation. The lawmaker expects law enforcement will make the case that Flock cameras keep neighborhoods safe, and he expects a mix of reactions from Duval County residents.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The sheriff\u2019s office released a video and social media post<\/a> on Aug. 20, explaining the department\u2019s support for license plate recognition cameras and how the surveillance technology is being used in investigations.<\/p>\n An officer speaking in the video says the technology is only employed in relation to a call for service.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cThere\u2019s an audit to the system. Folks are reactively using the system. Specialists don\u2019t just get in there and choose any old John Q Citizen to look for,\u201d the JSO officer says. \u201cThey\u2019re being reactive based on a call for service or some type of incident that necessitates them to go into that system and be looking for a specific vehicle.\u201d<\/p>\n The Facebook post says JSO has 141 fixed and nine mobile license plate recognition cameras in service. According to JSO, the technology has helped solve 15 murders, 17 kidnappings, six forcible sex offenses, nearly 100 shootings, and 172 missing-persons cases since 2024.<\/p>\n The video leads with an example of how flock cameras throughout Duval County were able to track a vehicle involved in a juvenile kidnapping using the camera\u2019s license plate reading capability.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jacksonville Today has requested records<\/a> about which privately held cameras JSO and surrounding law enforcement agencies can also access.<\/p>\n Public speaks out<\/p>\n Duval County residents spoke both in support and against the growing prevalence of Flock-style<\/a> cameras during Tuesday\u2019s city council meeting.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Fourth Amendment was designed to restrain. That\u2019s precisely why Flock demands constitutional scrutiny,\u201d one public speaker said. \u201cThis isn\u2019t simply about photographing a license plate. It\u2019s about what happens after that photograph is taken. A plate observed once on a public road is visible to anyone. But when thousands of observations are automatically collected, stored, interconnected, and made searchable, (the) government acquires something fundamentally different.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Jacksonville resident Tony Langhals said although people\u2019s \u201cprivate details may be exposed,\u201d it helps solve missing persons, stolen vehicles, and homicide cases.<\/p>\n \u201cThe mass surveillance cameras assist JSO in analyzing and solving crimes by aiding an enhanced conviction rate, which improves residents\u2019 safety in the city of Jacksonville,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Peluso says he wants council to take action on Flock camera use before the issue gets to the state Legislature. The Jacksonville Democrat worries that state lawmakers could make it harder for local governments to regulate the technology and easier for third-party companies to sell the data they gather.<\/p>\n \u201cI know that our friends in Tallahassee, when the right donor shows up, can say there\u2019s more money to be made on this,\u201d Peluso said. \u201c\u2018How about you allow us to sell this data? How about you allow us to provide driving trends and hand that over to Walmart or Amazon and really try to monetize these things to the nth degree?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n On Wednesday, after Peluso spoke with Jacksonville Today, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called license plate readers \u201cout of control\u201d and said he worries the devices could lead to a \u201csurveillance state,\u201d according to Florida Politics<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n During an event at Florida International University in Miami, the governor called on the Legislature to take action on the surveillance cameras.<\/p>\n