TAVARES, Fla. — Lake County commissioners voted Tuesday to rescind authorization for Flock Safety license plate-reading cameras located within county rights of way.
The vote directs the county to turn off and remove the affected cameras.
Commissioner Anthony Sabatini placed the issue on Tuesday’s agenda and pushed for Lake County to end its use of the controversial surveillance technology.
The official agenda item called for commissioners to discuss and provide direction on “rescinding authorizations to allow License Plate Readers in the County right-of-way.”
The decision does not necessarily prohibit cameras located on municipal or private property within Lake County. It applies to license plate readers authorized within rights of way controlled by the county.
Sabatini had publicly called for what he described as a complete ban on Flock cameras in Lake County.
The cameras automatically photograph passing vehicles and record information including license plate numbers, locations and times. Law enforcement agencies can search the information while investigating crimes, locating stolen vehicles or searching for missing people.
Critics have raised concerns about how the information is stored, shared and accessed. Law enforcement agencies have defended the technology as a tool for solving serious crimes and locating missing or endangered people.
Lake County residents previously called on commissioners to remove the cameras, arguing that the network created opportunities for abuse and infringed on constitutional rights.
The Lake County vote came one day after the Florida Department of Transportation revoked permits for license plate readers installed along state roads.
FDOT gave law enforcement agencies 30 days to remove cameras from state rights of way and stopped accepting new requests to install the devices within its jurisdiction.
Several Central Florida agencies have taken broader action. Oviedo voted to deactivate its Flock cameras, while law enforcement agencies in Seminole, Volusia, Titusville and Sanford have suspended or discontinued their use of the network.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said Tuesday that he supports statewide legislative limits on the placement of license plate readers and how the collected information is stored and shared.
Uthmeier also defended narrowly defined law enforcement uses of the technology, saying it has helped authorities solve serious crimes and rescue children.
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