Politics
St. Johns County orders 89 sheriff’s license-plate cameras off county roads
County commissioners voted 3-2 on Oct. 20 to revoke permits for Flock Safety license-plate readers on county rights-of-way, citing concerns raised during a wider debate over privacy and safeguards. The sheriff’s office says the cameras have helped investigations, but no date has been set for disabling the 89 devices affected by the vote.
St. Johns County commissioners voted 3-2 on Tuesday, Oct. 20, to revoke permits for 89 Flock Safety automatic license-plate readers on county roads. The sheriff’s office said the vote requires their removal, but commissioners set no deadline for shutting down the system.
The decision follows months of debate over how law enforcement uses plate-reader data and what protections should govern it. Cameras on private property and those operated by homeowners associations are not affected. The sheriff’s office said it had already removed 84 readers from state roads in September to comply with a Florida Department of Transportation directive.
Sheriff Rob Hardwick has argued the technology helps investigators locate suspects, recover stolen vehicles and find missing people. The department cited 2026 figures that include 29 stolen vehicles recovered, 35 wanted people arrested and 35 missing people found. At the commission meeting, criminal investigations director Howard Cole pointed to an armed bank robbery, saying investigators caught the suspect 15 minutes after the crime with help from the technology.
Residents who opposed the cameras raised concerns about privacy, how long data is kept, inaccurate readings and the risk of someone being wrongly targeted. At a September budget hearing, sheriff’s officials said the department had reduced data retention to 30 days, restricted system access and stopped sharing information with outside agencies. They also said the system does not use facial recognition or collect cellphone data.
Commissioner Sarah Arnold said she favored a temporary pause while county attorneys and the local legislative delegation work on stronger protections. Commissioner Whitehurst also supported temporarily taking the cameras down while the state examines their effects. Commissioner Krista Joseph favored keeping them with additional safeguards, while Chairman Clay Murphy opposed suspending the system before safeguards were determined.
Forrest Bailey, whose 13-year-old daughter Tristyn was murdered in 2021, told commissioners that learning plate readers were available when his family was searching for her had given him hope that investigators could find her.
In a statement after the vote, the Sheriff’s Office said it disagreed with the decision and warned it could affect public safety. Hardwick said the department had strengthened controls, audits and oversight, and said he would continue working to bring the technology back to the county.