PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFTS) — A Pinellas County commissioner is proposing the county remove automated license plate reader cameras from county roads and end its contracts with companies that operate the technology, like Flock Safety.
WATCH: Pinellas Co. commissioner calls for removing Flock cameras from county roads
Commissioner Vince Nowicki announced Tuesday that he has filed a resolution calling for the county to terminate contracts, subscriptions, agreements, and data-sharing arrangements with Flock Safety, Axon, and any other automated license plate reader (ALPR) provider.
The proposal comes one day after the Florida Department of Transportation ordered automated license plate readers located within state highway rights-of-way removed within 30 days. The state action does not apply to cameras on local or county roads.
Nowicki's resolution would put Pinellas County in the middle of that debate.
If approved, his resolution would direct the county to remove existing ALPR cameras from county roads and county-owned, maintained or controlled rights-of-way within 30 days.
It would also prohibit the county from entering into, renewing, extending, expanding, or replacing an agreement with an ALPR provider.
The resolution also calls on the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office and municipalities within the county to end their own ALPR contracts, discontinue use of the technology, and remove cameras under their jurisdiction.
The resolution would also require county staff to report back to commissioners within 60 days with information, including the number and general locations of ALPR cameras, who owns and operates them, the status of contract terminations and camera removals, and any costs or contractual obstacles involved.
Nowicki: Public safety and privacy can coexist
Nowicki said he supports law enforcement and understands the purpose of the technology, but believes ALPRs create a fundamentally different kind of surveillance.
“You know, public safety and personal liberty are not competing goals, and government should track suspects based on evidence and not collect everyone's movement just in case,” Nowicki said.
“People say, ‘Oh, your license plates are public,’” Nowicki continued. “‘People can see them anyway, so what's the big harm?’ Well, people can see my face in public too, but I don't want government to track my face and my movement everywhere.”
The resolution specifically targets automated license plate readers. It does not call for removing speed cameras, red-light cameras, or other types of surveillance technology.
Nowicki said he expects the resolution could be considered at next week's County Commission meeting and said he plans to move for its adoption.
The next regular Pinellas County Commission meeting is scheduled for Sept. 10.
The proposal was welcome news to St. Petersburg resident Carl Gunner, who calls himself the “Flock Blocker.”
Gunner began protesting Flock cameras in July after noticing one near his neighborhood. He now uses a sign attached to a pool skimmer to block the cameras without damaging them.
“I didn’t realize there were so many. I just thought it was just here in St. Pete,” Gunner said.
Gunner said he believes the cameras amount to unconstitutional surveillance.
“It’s got nothing to do whether I’m doing anything wrong. It’s because I’m doing stuff that is right. And they don’t have the right to surveil me and make money off of it,” he said.
The debate over Flock cameras
ALPR systems photograph passing vehicles and license plates and can provide law enforcement with information that can help identify vehicles connected to investigations.
Supporters say the cameras are a valuable investigative tool that can help solve crimes. Critics argue that collecting information on vehicles belonging to people who are not suspected of wrongdoing amounts to widespread surveillance.
The issue has received increasing attention in the Tampa Bay area. More than a thousand ALPR cameras are estimated to operate across the area according to DeFlock, a group opposed to the technology.
Nowicki said he believes the time has come to reconsider how broadly the technology is being deployed.
“I think we will look back and say, was this too far? And I think that time is here,” he said.
Pinellas County's Board of County Commissioners is scheduled to meet Sept. 10, when Nowicki's resolution could come up for discussion and a vote.
Separately, the City of St. Petersburg is also reviewing its Flock Safety cameras and its contract with the company.
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