Flock Camera

On “The Florida Roundup,” Franklin County Sheriff AJ “Tony” Smith said he wanted to get rid of the ALPRs due to citizen concerns. When told only the company can remove them, he took matters into his own hands.

This week on "The Florida Roundup," we spoke with Your Florida state government team reporter Meghan Bowman about a new report detailing the state’s spending on immigration efforts and another highlighting abuses at the now-defunct migrant detention center in the Everglades.

There is talk from several of the law enforcement agencies pausing their use for the Florida legislature and other groups to enact regulations before bringing the surveillance technology back into use.

As political races heat up heading into the midterms, candidates from both parties are increasingly joining the fray to voice concerns over Flock surveillance cameras.

The Florida Department of Transportation has begun removing the automated license plate readers amid growing backlash.

In the past year, Gov. Ron DeSantis has approved approximately $4.6 million in requests from local law enforcement agencies for automatic license plate readers in connection with their illegal immigration enforcement efforts. On Monday, FDOT advised law enforcement agencies to remove all the devices from state roads.

They're used by law enforcement agencies, private companies and municipalities and are being installed in Florida and across the country at a rapid pace.

Amid backlash about automated license plate readers, the Florida Department of Transportation has revoked permits for existing devices within the right of way of a road on the state highway system.

The backlash is growing against Flock automatic license plate readers. Our panel of experts expresses concerns about the technology.

DeFlock organizers said they’re not just concerned with St. Petersburg police using the cameras to search license plates. It's also the amount of information collected, where it goes and how much residents know about who can access it.

Amid the growing public and political backlash against Flock cameras, add Gov. Ron DeSantis to the list of skeptics about their use.

The company will make what were once optional guardrails mandatory. Among them: Law enforcement customers will have to implement an audit tool intended to flag abnormal search behavior.