![\"Miami](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/MIA_2026-04-10AD0784MiamiBeachPride.JPG\" "\\"Miami")
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Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner speaks as city officials and community members gather in Lummus Park for the unveiling of a rebuilt LGBTQ+ crosswalk made of 3,606 colorful pavers on Friday, April 10, 2026.<\/p>\n
PHOTO BY AL DIAZ<\/p>\n
adiaz@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
Amid growing surveillance and privacy concerns over license plate tracking cameras, Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner is gearing up to fight Tallahassee to keep them in place on state roads.<\/p>\n
He announced on social media late Monday that he would bring legislation to \u201ctake back control of our roads\u201d after Florida\u2019s Department of Transportation issued a memo ordering the removal of license plate recognition systems from roads intersecting with state highways within 30 days.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Florida Department of Transportation blocks Flock cameras on state roadways<\/a><\/p>\n Meiner said the cameras have \u201chelped our Police track fleeing suspects, get guns off our streets, and arrest violent criminals.\u201d<\/p>\n The Miami Beach Police Department doesn\u2019t partner with Flock, the main company putting up the cameras, and the handful of Flock cameras in the city were put up by homeowner associations, a spokesperson told the Miami Herald last month<\/a>.<\/p>\n Instead, the department has cameras posted throughout Miami Beach operated by two other companies, Motorola Solutions and Axon Outpost. The department has had a policy in place for license plate recognition systems since 2013 with \u201cstrictly controlled\u201d access, a spokesperson said Tuesday. The department did a three-month trial of Flock\u2019s software two years ago, the spokesperson added, but decided not to sign a contract with the company.<\/p>\n Meiner\u2019s stance puts him at odds with the growing bipartisan pushback against the technology in the state \u2014 and sets the stage for a battle to come between state and local officials. Meiner is a former Republican who switched to no party affiliation, but has previously aligned himself with Gov. Ron DeSantis.<\/p>\n DeSantis has become an outspoken voice for stronger guardrails around surveillance systems in recent weeks.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we don\u2019t want in the state of Florida is to have a digital AI surveillance state where everything we\u2019re doing is being tracked at all times,\u201d he told reporters Monday.<\/p>\n Florida\u2019s gubernatorial candidates, on both sides of the aisle, have also called for greater regulation of the technology.<\/p>\n This week, Democrat David Jolly said he thinks DeSantis should convene a special legislative session to regulate Flock cameras. In July, Republican Byron Donalds called for a \u201cfull pause\u201d to ensure people\u2019s privacy rights<\/a> are protected.<\/p>\n The state\u2019s position on Flock cameras, however, has not always been so skeptical.<\/p>\n DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet have approved about $2.5 million<\/a> in state immigration grants to police agencies to implement Flock camera technology. Florida\u2019s Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles signed a \u201cstudy agreement\u201d with Flock in 2023, according to a copy obtained by the Herald\/Times.<\/p>\n At least 100 individual police and sheriff\u2019s departments have signed contracts with Flock, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation\u2019s database<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meiner\u2019s stance in defense of the cameras after Monday\u2019s announcement from FDOT \u2014 which suspended all current and future approvals for the use of the technology on state highways \u2014 comes in contrast to some other local officials who\u2019ve also moved to roll back the technology.<\/p>\n In Jacksonville, Sheriff T.K. Waters announced Monday<\/a> the immediate discontinuation of all its usage of license plate recognition systems.<\/p>\n In Pasco County, commissioners rescinded support<\/a> for the county\u2019s contract with Flock earlier this month leading the sheriff\u2019s office to announce plans to remove about 60 of their cameras.<\/p>\n Herald\/Times Tallahassee Bureau correspondent Liv Caputo contributed to this report.<\/p>\n This story was originally published September 1, 2026 at 11:40 AM.<\/p>\n