Fernandina Beach Pulls Plug on Police Flock License Plate Cameras

By Mike Lednovich/Editor

The Fernandina Beach Police Department is ending its use of Flock Safety license plate-reading cameras, joining law enforcement agencies across Florida that are abandoning the technology amid growing concerns about privacy, data sharing and potential misuse.

The city announced Tuesday that it had notified Flock Group of its decision to discontinue the license plate recognition system.

“Based on the recent State of Florida decision concerning license plate recognition systems, as well as concerns raised by the community, the City of Fernandina Beach believes this is the most appropriate course of action,” the Police Department said in a Sept. 1 press release.

The decision comes one day after the Florida Department of Transportation revoked permits for automated license plate recognition systems installed within rights-of-way on the state highway system and ordered affected cameras removed within 30 days. FDOT also said it would stop issuing new permits for the systems.

The state action does not amount to a statewide declaration that Flock cameras are illegal. Rather, it removes authorization for the cameras on state highway rights-of-way. Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden specifically noted that the technology has not been ruled unconstitutional and has not been declared illegal by the state.

FDOT said the rapid proliferation of the cameras, combined with reports of misuse, privacy concerns and surveillance practices, warranted immediate action. The move followed comments by Gov. Ron DeSantis, who called the growth of license plate readers “out of control.”

Fernandina Beach's decision goes further than merely removing cameras that might be affected by the FDOT directive: The city said it is discontinuing its Flock system.

The city has been using Flock technology for several years. In June 2023, the City Commission approved a five-year agreement with Flock Safety Group after the Police Department had operated under a one-year agreement signed in 2022. The resolution said the department used license plate readers for investigative purposes and that Flock provided access to its hardware and software nationwide.

Flock cameras were located at the intersection of South 8th Street and Ameila Island Parkway and also Atlantic Avenue and 8th Street.

Flock cameras at 8th and Atlantic

"Way too many. Florida is falling behind other states getting rid of these mass surveillance devices. Even little Rhode Island just put a hold on new cameras pending citizen & department reviews," wrote Erik Zola on Facebook before the announcement.

The five-year agreement was valued at $50,000, or $10,000 annually, and city staff said at the time that committing to the longer contract would save the city $10,000 over five years.  The City Commission formally approved the agreement June 20, 2023.

The Flock system automatically photographs vehicles and records license plate and other vehicle information that can then be searched by authorized law enforcement officers. The city's contract describes the system as capable of searching for vehicles connected to stolen vehicles or plates, wanted or missing persons and other law-enforcement investigations.

But the same ability to collect and search the movements of vehicles has increasingly made Flock cameras a flashpoint in the national debate over government surveillance.

Critics contend that large networks of interconnected license plate readers can effectively create a searchable record of where motorists have traveled even when those drivers are not suspected of committing a crime. Questions have also arisen over how broadly information collected by one police department can be accessed by other agencies.

Those concerns have become particularly acute as reports of misuse have surfaced. In Florida, a Brevard County sheriff's deputy resigned after an internal investigation found, among other allegations, that he improperly searched Flock data for the license plate of a former girlfriend while off duty.

Chadd Charland

Chadd Charland was among a group of concerned residents who spoke about the abuse of Flock data at the Aug. 4 City Commission meeting. He asked the commission to require the police department to end its use of Flock Safety and any other ALPR cameras and to remove existing cameras from Fernandina Beach. Charland based the request as an obligation to protect the community and recommended taking it before public awareness and tracking escalate further.

Savannah, Georgia, meanwhile, placed four police officers and two civilian employees on administrative leave after discovering several potential misuses of its Flock system, according to Jacksonville Today.

Fernandina Beach itself participated in an information-sharing arrangement involving Flock. A September 2024 agreement between the Fernandina Beach and Panama City Beach police departments states that both departments contracted with Flock for services supporting criminal justice systems containing Criminal Justice Information.

That agreement was principally aimed at satisfying FBI and Florida Department of Law Enforcement Criminal Justice Information Services security requirements. Panama City Beach agreed to conduct and maintain security screening information for Flock employees requiring access to criminal justice information and provide Fernandina Beach with the list of authorized employees.  

The agreement also acknowledged that criminal justice information being shared was subject to federal and state restrictions on access and dissemination.

Fernandina Beach is hardly alone in backing away from the technology.

Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters announced that his agency would discontinue the cameras despite calling them an “enormously valuable investigative tool.” Nassau County also said it would comply with the state directive affecting 34 Flock cameras operated by the Sheriff's Office, while Putnam County Sheriff H.D. “Gator” DeLoach ordered his department's 18 cameras disconnected immediately and removed within 30 days.

DeLoach said the technology had helped authorities locate missing people, murder suspects and a teenage human-trafficking victim, illustrating the other side of the debate: Police agencies argue that automated plate readers can provide investigators with leads much faster than traditional investigative methods.

Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper said law enforcement must balance those benefits against privacy rights.

“As technology continues to evolve, we welcome the opportunity to work with our local and state partners to ensure these tools are used appropriately, responsibly and as intended to assist in solving serious crimes, locating missing or endangered persons and recovering stolen property while also protecting the rights and privacy of our citizens,” Leeper said.

Fernandina Beach's announcement similarly emphasized responsible technology use.

“The Fernandina Beach Police Department is committed to providing superior law enforcement services through community-based policing and the responsible use of technology,” the department said.

The city's Flock cameras will not necessarily disappear immediately. The Police Department said the equipment will be removed by the company and that removal will be scheduled according to Flock's timeline.

The decision also leaves unanswered what financial obligations, if any, the city may have under the remainder of the five-year agreement approved in 2023. That contract was designed to run for 60 months, meaning the city's decision comes before the originally contemplated five-year period has expired. The city's announcement did not say whether Fernandina Beach will owe an early termination payment or receive any refund.