Update: Lake County joins Central Florida trend, rejecting Flock cameras
By Sam Stockbridge, Molly Duerig
September 1, 2026 at 5:59 AM EDT
Backlash against Flock Safety license plate readers has come to head this week in Central Florida and statewide.
The cameras have attracted controversy in recent years as some police officers have used the services to stalk ex-partners. And errors in Flock Safety’s character recognition software has led to wrongful arrests nationwide, including the arrest and later release of a Sanford woman based on a Flock match.
On Monday, the Florida Department of Transportation announced that it would revoke permits for license plate readers on state right-of-ways.
And local governments in Central Florida — including Lake County — have also taken action against the automatic license plate readers, or ALPRs.
State criticisms
FDOT announced its decision in a memorandum.
“While Florida law limits the issuance of permits for LPR systems to law enforcement agencies, the recent exponential increase in deployments along our roadways, coupled with concerning reports of misuse, data privacy concerns, and surveillance schemes merit immediate action to preserve Floridians’ sovereignty and quality of life,” FDOT Assistant Secretary Will Watts wrote in the memo.
Gov. Ron DeSantis criticized Flock cameras in a statement on Friday. He said the use of license plate readers in Florida was “out of control.” .
Limits on Flock and other surveillance-adjacent technology were a key feature of DeSantis’s digital bill of rights proposed for a legislative session earlier this year, but it didn’t pass.
Oviedo work session
During a work session Monday night, the Oviedo City Council agreed to prematurely end the city’s five-year contract with Flock Safety, citing privacy and security concerns.
At the Oviedo City Council’s work session, public comment focused on the service’s potential for misuse or abuse — citing numerous examples nationally of police officers using Flock’s database to stalk ex-partners — and how its network of location data could be used to track citizens.
Karl Bach, a spokesman for Flock, clarified to the council that Flock’s cameras transmit data to its own servers, though its customers retain sole ownership of that data unless they agree to give other agencies access to it for their own investigations.
Depending on the needs of its customers, Flock will automatically delete photos from its servers after 30 days, scrambling and wiping the data from its records, Bach said.
That retention period can be longer, too, Bach explained. He said one community asked Flock to retain records for a year before deleting them, because the high prevalence of vacation homes there means residents may not find out about a break-in until months after the fact.
Oviedo Mayor Megan Sladek was encouraged by some of Bach’s explanations, especially his description of how the service purges records securely. But she wasn’t convinced to maintain the contract.
“I think he was doing the best he could, and I don't know if he doesn't have the technical expertise about how the software is designed, or if he was trying to beat around the bush, but there were some of the answers given that just, they didn't scratch that itch,” she said.
Oviedo had one month left in the first fiscal year of its contract with Flock Safety. Following the council’s decision, the police department will begin taking down the cameras immediately. It will not be reimbursed for the remaining month, which it already paid for.
‘An investigative tool’
Oviedo Police Chief Dale Coleman said he was “disappointed” by the council’s conclusion but understood it in the context of constituent concerns.
Coleman was a proponent of Flock’s recognition services. Since the cameras went online in February, they had been helpful in solving thefts.
He noted that it helped his department locate someone in a mental health crisis and prevent her from taking her own life.
The city’s brief use of the cameras means the decision won’t disrupt investigations, he said.
“It's not going to be a huge shift. It just will be [an] investigative tool that we won't have access to,” Coleman said. “But we'll go back doing police work like we've always done it.”
Also in Seminole County
Elsewhere in Seminole County, the Altamonte Springs Police Department announced Monday it would immediately suspend its use of the Flock camera network.
In a Facebook post, the department said it had been using ALPR technology and databases for over a decade, citing several recent examples of how the “important investigative tools” have been helpful. In one case, ALPR technology helped officers locate a kidnapped woman; in another, it helped officers quickly find a man suspected of shooting and killing his wife.
Yet the department also acknowledged the privacy concerns people have with ALPR technology.
“The ASPD has employed this technology appropriately and with safeguards and oversight, and it has helped us solve crimes more quickly than we would have been able to without the technology,” the department says in the post. “But across the nation, there have been instances of abuse, and those abuses have caused distrust.”
Lake County revokes permits
In Lake County, commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to revoke all permits for automated license plate readers in county right-of-ways.
Tuesday’s item was only slated for discussion, not a vote — and some commissioners said they would’ve preferred to receive more information, including from the Sheriff’s Office, before taking decisive action.
“That's what a good decision is all about. It's not about making a knee-jerk reaction,” said Commission Chair Leslie Campione. “That was one of the reasons why I just didn't want to do it in the first meeting where it was brought up. I wanted it to be something that was fully discussed and vetted.”
At Tuesday's meeting, Lake County Commission Chair Leslie Campione pointed out that Flock cameras are not the only devices collecting data on citizens. "I don't want to be surveilled. I don't want information collected on me. But I do walk around with this (phone) all day long," she said, holding up her smartphone.<br/> (1480x885, AR: 1.6723163841807909)
District 2 Commissioner Sean Parks echoed that sentiment, saying he’d rather get feedback from Lake County Sheriff Peyton Grinnell, who wasn’t present at Tuesday’s meeting. “I want to have discussion with the sheriff first.”
Ultimately, though, Parks and Campione both joined the commission’s unanimous vote to approve revoking ALPR permits.
Following that vote, Parks made a separate motion to invite the sheriff to attend another commission meeting within the next month, to share the agency’s perspective on its use of ALPR technology. That motion also passed, 3-2. Campione and District 3 Commissioner Kirby Smith voted against; they said they’d rather host the sheriff at a separate public meeting outside of the commission’s usual meeting time, given the level of public interest in the issue.
Brevard and Volusia counties
In Brevard County, Sheriff Wayne Ivey shared a video message on Facebook Monday, announcing the agency would suspend its use of the Flock camera network. The Titusville Police Department also announced a “temporary pause” of its Flock ALPR program Monday.
Also in Brevard, the Indian Harbour Beach Police Department announced Monday that Flock Safety cameras positioned at city parks would not be removed.
“These cameras are not license plate recognition cameras and are not affected by the FDOT directive,” according to the announcement. “The park cameras are used strictly for security purposes. They are not continuously monitored, do not utilize facial recognition or artificial intelligence to identify individuals, and are generally accessed when an incident has occurred, and video footage may assist law enforcement with an investigation.”
In Volusia County, Sheriff Mike Chitwood announced Monday the agency would be immediately shutting down the use of LPRs in the county. In a Facebook post, Chitwood wrote: “The LPR has been an incredible tool for public safety. But until we have clarity, guidance and a legal framework from the Florida Legislature regarding this technology, it’s no longer a tool we can use.”
Last month, the Sumter County Sheriff Office shut down its Flock program after a detective was charged with improperly using it to track her husband’s former romantic partner.
The cameras have attracted controversy in recent years as some police officers have used the services to stalk ex-partners. And errors in Flock Safety’s character recognition software has led to wrongful arrests nationwide, including the arrest and later release of a Sanford woman based on a Flock match.
On Monday, the Florida Department of Transportation announced that it would revoke permits for license plate readers on state right-of-ways.
And local governments in Central Florida — including Lake County — have also taken action against the automatic license plate readers, or ALPRs.
State criticisms
FDOT announced its decision in a memorandum.
“While Florida law limits the issuance of permits for LPR systems to law enforcement agencies, the recent exponential increase in deployments along our roadways, coupled with concerning reports of misuse, data privacy concerns, and surveillance schemes merit immediate action to preserve Floridians’ sovereignty and quality of life,” FDOT Assistant Secretary Will Watts wrote in the memo.
Gov. Ron DeSantis criticized Flock cameras in a statement on Friday. He said the use of license plate readers in Florida was “out of control.” .
Limits on Flock and other surveillance-adjacent technology were a key feature of DeSantis’s digital bill of rights proposed for a legislative session earlier this year, but it didn’t pass.
Oviedo work session
During a work session Monday night, the Oviedo City Council agreed to prematurely end the city’s five-year contract with Flock Safety, citing privacy and security concerns.
At the Oviedo City Council’s work session, public comment focused on the service’s potential for misuse or abuse — citing numerous examples nationally of police officers using Flock’s database to stalk ex-partners — and how its network of location data could be used to track citizens.
Karl Bach, a spokesman for Flock, clarified to the council that Flock’s cameras transmit data to its own servers, though its customers retain sole ownership of that data unless they agree to give other agencies access to it for their own investigations.
Depending on the needs of its customers, Flock will automatically delete photos from its servers after 30 days, scrambling and wiping the data from its records, Bach said.
That retention period can be longer, too, Bach explained. He said one community asked Flock to retain records for a year before deleting them, because the high prevalence of vacation homes there means residents may not find out about a break-in until months after the fact.
Oviedo Mayor Megan Sladek was encouraged by some of Bach’s explanations, especially his description of how the service purges records securely. But she wasn’t convinced to maintain the contract.
“I think he was doing the best he could, and I don't know if he doesn't have the technical expertise about how the software is designed, or if he was trying to beat around the bush, but there were some of the answers given that just, they didn't scratch that itch,” she said.
Oviedo had one month left in the first fiscal year of its contract with Flock Safety. Following the council’s decision, the police department will begin taking down the cameras immediately. It will not be reimbursed for the remaining month, which it already paid for.
‘An investigative tool’
Oviedo Police Chief Dale Coleman said he was “disappointed” by the council’s conclusion but understood it in the context of constituent concerns.
Coleman was a proponent of Flock’s recognition services. Since the cameras went online in February, they had been helpful in solving thefts.
He noted that it helped his department locate someone in a mental health crisis and prevent her from taking her own life.
The city’s brief use of the cameras means the decision won’t disrupt investigations, he said.
“It's not going to be a huge shift. It just will be [an] investigative tool that we won't have access to,” Coleman said. “But we'll go back doing police work like we've always done it.”
Also in Seminole County
Elsewhere in Seminole County, the Altamonte Springs Police Department announced Monday it would immediately suspend its use of the Flock camera network.
In a Facebook post, the department said it had been using ALPR technology and databases for over a decade, citing several recent examples of how the “important investigative tools” have been helpful. In one case, ALPR technology helped officers locate a kidnapped woman; in another, it helped officers quickly find a man suspected of shooting and killing his wife.
Yet the department also acknowledged the privacy concerns people have with ALPR technology.
“The ASPD has employed this technology appropriately and with safeguards and oversight, and it has helped us solve crimes more quickly than we would have been able to without the technology,” the department says in the post. “But across the nation, there have been instances of abuse, and those abuses have caused distrust.”
Lake County revokes permits
In Lake County, commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to revoke all permits for automated license plate readers in county right-of-ways.
Tuesday’s item was only slated for discussion, not a vote — and some commissioners said they would’ve preferred to receive more information, including from the Sheriff’s Office, before taking decisive action.
“That's what a good decision is all about. It's not about making a knee-jerk reaction,” said Commission Chair Leslie Campione. “That was one of the reasons why I just didn't want to do it in the first meeting where it was brought up. I wanted it to be something that was fully discussed and vetted.”
At Tuesday's meeting, Lake County Commission Chair Leslie Campione pointed out that Flock cameras are not the only devices collecting data on citizens. "I don't want to be surveilled. I don't want information collected on me. But I do walk around with this (phone) all day long," she said, holding up her smartphone.<br/> (1480x885, AR: 1.6723163841807909)
District 2 Commissioner Sean Parks echoed that sentiment, saying he’d rather get feedback from Lake County Sheriff Peyton Grinnell, who wasn’t present at Tuesday’s meeting. “I want to have discussion with the sheriff first.”
Ultimately, though, Parks and Campione both joined the commission’s unanimous vote to approve revoking ALPR permits.
Following that vote, Parks made a separate motion to invite the sheriff to attend another commission meeting within the next month, to share the agency’s perspective on its use of ALPR technology. That motion also passed, 3-2. Campione and District 3 Commissioner Kirby Smith voted against; they said they’d rather host the sheriff at a separate public meeting outside of the commission’s usual meeting time, given the level of public interest in the issue.
Brevard and Volusia counties
In Brevard County, Sheriff Wayne Ivey shared a video message on Facebook Monday, announcing the agency would suspend its use of the Flock camera network. The Titusville Police Department also announced a “temporary pause” of its Flock ALPR program Monday.
Also in Brevard, the Indian Harbour Beach Police Department announced Monday that Flock Safety cameras positioned at city parks would not be removed.
“These cameras are not license plate recognition cameras and are not affected by the FDOT directive,” according to the announcement. “The park cameras are used strictly for security purposes. They are not continuously monitored, do not utilize facial recognition or artificial intelligence to identify individuals, and are generally accessed when an incident has occurred, and video footage may assist law enforcement with an investigation.”
In Volusia County, Sheriff Mike Chitwood announced Monday the agency would be immediately shutting down the use of LPRs in the county. In a Facebook post, Chitwood wrote: “The LPR has been an incredible tool for public safety. But until we have clarity, guidance and a legal framework from the Florida Legislature regarding this technology, it’s no longer a tool we can use.”
Last month, the Sumter County Sheriff Office shut down its Flock program after a detective was charged with improperly using it to track her husband’s former romantic partner.