GoKawiil
Tech News
Florida's Department of Transportation issued a memo revoking permits for automatic license plate readers, including Flock Safety cameras, on state-controlled roads. Law enforcement agencies have 30 days from August 31 to remove the devices, and the agency says it will stop approving new permit requests going forward.
The Florida Department of Transportation issued a memo on Aug. 31 revoking permits for automated license plate recognition cameras, often known by the brand name Flock, installed along state highway rights-of-way. Local law enforcement agencies have 30 days to remove the devices or FDOT will take them down itself, citing rapid growth in deployments and concerns about misuse and surveillance.
Anti-surveillance group Secure Justice reports that 214 cities and counties have dropped Flock Safety's license-plate camera contracts since 2021, with 90 cancellations in August alone—a fourfold jump from July. Communities from Lansing, Michigan to Pflugerville, Texas cited cost, data-sharing practices, network reach, and cases of police misuse as reasons for ending their deals. Flock says new city partnerships still outnumber cancellations roughly 10 to 1 this year.
The Austin suburb's city council voted unanimously on August 25 to terminate its agreement with Flock Safety, cutting off access to its automated license plate reader system. City staff had already begun covering the 28 cameras installed around town earlier that day, ending a relationship with the vendor that dated back to 2020.
A tech writer covering Flock Safety's AI license plate cameras outlines simple visual cues to identify the company's devices amid growing public confusion. The guide highlights Flock's distinctive oval, hooded camera shape with a circular lens as the clearest identifying feature, distinguishing it from competitors like Obvio and other traffic cameras. The piece also criticizes crowdsourced tracking apps like DeFlock for spreading inaccurate information about camera locations.
Georgia's GBI arrested three former Savannah Police Department officers and one former civilian staffer for improperly accessing Flock Safety's license plate reader network for non-law-enforcement purposes. The officers face two counts of misuse of a license plate reader system plus a violation of oath of office charge, while the civilian employee faces two misuse counts. Savannah PD uncovered the abuse through an internal audit, fired the individuals, and referred the case to state investigators.