{"id":387733,"date":"2026-09-02T00:54:42","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T00:54:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/387733\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T00:54:42","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T00:54:42","slug":"martin-county-sheriff-backs-limits-on-license-plate-readers-warns-against-full-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/387733\/","title":{"rendered":"Martin County sheriff backs limits on license plate readers, warns against full ban"},"content":{"rendered":"

MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek<\/a> said his agency will comply with Florida\u2019s order to remove license plate readers from state roadways but will keep cameras not covered by the directive in place as he seeks statewide privacy safeguards.<\/p>\n

In a video statement, Budensiek said the Martin County Sheriff\u2019s Office <\/a>has used license plate readers \u201csuccessfully, appropriately, and legally\u201d for the past decade to identify traveling criminals.<\/p>\n

He said the cameras have helped deputies stop kidnapping suspects, burglary crews, human traffickers, gun traffickers and drug traffickers. Budensiek also said the technology helped authorities stop a man accused of plotting to assassinate President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Florida Department of Transportation<\/a> has given agencies 30 days to remove Flock <\/a>cameras and similar license plate reader technology from state roads and revoked previously approved permits. The order does not apply to cameras located off state rights of way.<\/p>\n

Budensiek said the sheriff\u2019s office will follow the directive but argued the removal makes Martin County \u201cfundamentally less safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe license plate readers that are not affected by this order will remain in place until we get solidified, thoughtful legislation in place that helps us keep the citizens of Martin County safe,\u201d Budensiek said.<\/p>\n

Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw<\/a> also said the technology should come with protections against misuse. In a statement to CBS12 News, Bradshaw called automated license plate readers \u201cindispensable\u201d to law enforcement and said they have led to significant arrests of dangerous suspects.<\/p>\n

Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers<\/a> has also strongly defended the technology. In recent comments to CBS12 News, Flowers pointed to the use of license plate readers in the investigation into the killing of Vero Beach hairdresser Dawn Kriskewic. Investigators used the cameras to track suspect Matthew Waggle\u2019s movements after he fled Florida; he was later captured in West Virginia.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo for everybody who wants to talk about how bad this system is, we got a murderer behind bars because of this,\u201d Flowers said.<\/p>\n

Flowers noted that Flock is one company that provides automated license plate readers, but said the wider debate involves the use of the technology itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe say Flock, but it\u2019s license plate readers, because they\u2019re just one brand. It\u2019s all license plate readers,\u201d Flowers said.<\/p>\n

He also argued that the technology can help clear people who are wrongly suspected of crimes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we\u2019re able to show that that person\u2019s vehicle was nowhere near the homicide,\u201d Flowers said, \u201cthat\u2019s a great way for us to show that somebody is innocent as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Budensiek said he understands privacy concerns and has proposed legislation to local state lawmakers and the Florida Sheriffs Association. His proposal would limit license plate reader searches to criminal investigations and missing-person cases and require a case number, report and supervisory approval.<\/p>\n

The proposal also calls for internal and external audits, short data-retention periods and a prohibition on private companies possessing or selling the data. Budensiek said he would support having the Florida Department of Law Enforcement or an independent professional auditor review the systems.<\/p>\n

\u201cComplete elimination of this program will result in a payday and a holiday for the traveling criminals who have plagued this county and all of South Florida,\u201d Budensiek said.<\/p>\n

Read the full transcript of Sheriff Budensiek’s video below:<\/p>\n

“I’m Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek and I want to speak directly to the citizens of Martin County. For this conversation, context matters. For the past 10 years, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office has successfully, appropriately, and legally used license plate readers to protect the citizens of Martin County against the traveling criminals.<\/p>\n

“To highlight some of those cases, we stopped and arrested President Trump’s would-be assassin. Last year, we stopped a kidnapper with two of our young girls headed to Nebraska. We stopped a traveling rooftop burglary crew. We’ve stopped human traffickers, gun traffickers, drug traffickers, and the list goes on. Recently, the Florida Department of Transportation ordered the removal of all license plate readers or such devices from their rideways.<\/p>\n

“Well, what’s that do to the Martin County citizens? It makes us fundamentally less safe. So the question is, what are you going to do, sheriff, with these license plate readers? Well, first and foremost, of course, we’re going to comply with the order. But the license plate readers that are not affected by this order will remain in place until we get solidified, thoughtful legislation in place that helps us keep the citizens of Martin County safe.<\/p>\n

“Prior to this order, I’ve talked to many citizens in Martin County. I’ve read the news reports. I’ve read the comments. I understand. I believe all sides of the argument. We’ve got to protect the privacy of our citizens while protecting our citizens. And that’s a very difficult balancing act. As part of that though, I’ve reached out and proposed legislation to our local state representative and to the Florida Sheriff’s Association.<\/p>\n

“And the legislation is as follows. License plate readers can only be used for criminal investigations or missing persons. Has to have a case number and a report attached. So, you create a public record that the public can come in and see what you’ve done with your license plate readers. It has to have supervisory approval.<\/p>\n

“It has to have an internal auditing system. It has to have an external auditing system. And I would suggest the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. And on top of that, if people still don’t trust law enforcement, I would be okay with, and I believe the Florida Sheriff’s would be okay with a public professional auditing system.<\/p>\n

“There has to be a short retention period. You can’t keep this information forever. And I think of most importance to a lot of our individuals, this data cannot be in the hands of a private industry who sells our information. Complete elimination of this program will result in a payday and a holiday for the traveling criminals who have plagued this county and all of South Florida.<\/p>\n

“In closing, I want you, the citizens of Martin County, to know that I’ll do everything possible, leverage every resource, every asset that I have legally available to keep you, the citizens of Martin County, safe.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said his agency will comply with Florida\u2019s order…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":387734,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[171,173,172],"class_list":["post-387733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","tag-port-st-lucie-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=387733"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387733\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/387734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=387733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=387733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=387733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}