Sheriff Scott Orders 27 Readers Removed From State Roadways
ALACHUA COUNTY – The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office will remove 27 automated license plate readers from state highway rights-of-way following a Florida Department of Transportation directive revoking permits for the devices, Sheriff Chad Scott announced Monday.
Scott said his office received a written memorandum Aug. 31 from FDOT Chief Operating Officer and Assistant Secretary Will Watts directing law enforcement agencies to remove automated license plate readers, or ALPRs, installed within rights-of-way on the State Highway System.
After receiving the directive, Scott said he ordered the commander of the agency’s Innovative Policing Division to notify technology providers Flock Safety and Axon that affected devices must be removed within 30 days.
The Sheriff’s Office identified 27 readers that fall under the state directive.
The action comes amid growing scrutiny in Florida and nationally over the rapidly expanding use of automated license plate readers, which photograph passing vehicles and record information that can include license plate numbers and vehicle characteristics. Law enforcement agencies use the systems to search for vehicles associated with crimes, wanted suspects and missing people.
Scott, however, acknowledged concerns about the collection and retention of information involving motorists who are not suspected of crimes.
“The vast majority of vehicles captured by ALPR technology belong to ordinary people who are simply going to work, taking their children to school, visiting family, going to the grocery store, or otherwise living their lives,” Scott said. “Those people are not suspects, and they should not be treated as such.”
Scott said his office has used the technology in investigations involving homicides, violent attacks, armed robberies, burglaries, missing persons and other serious crimes. He said the systems have helped investigators develop leads, identify vehicles connected to criminal activity and locate wanted people.
But he said the debate should extend beyond whether police have access to the technology and include how information is collected, retained and searched and who can access it.
“At the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, we have implemented strict policies governing the use of ALPR technology, including defined search requirements and auditing procedures designed to ensure accountability,” Scott said. “Technology should never replace good police work, constitutional protections, or sound judgment.”
The statewide action follows public comments last week from Gov. Ron DeSantis, who called the proliferation of automated license plate readers “out of control” and said Florida needs safeguards governing their use.
“I’m all about having law enforcement have tools to be able to hold criminals accountable,” DeSantis said. “But I don’t want to have this become a surveillance state.”
The governor has said law enforcement should be able to use technology to pursue criminals but questioned the collection and use of information tracking the movements of people who are not suspected of wrongdoing.
The FDOT action specifically affects readers installed within state highway rights-of-way. The department previously allowed law enforcement agencies to obtain general-use permits to install license plate recognition systems along roads on the State Highway System.
Scott’s announcement did not say the Sheriff’s Office is abandoning automated license plate reader technology altogether. Instead, he said the agency will comply with the state order while evaluating what options remain available.
Scott described the issue as a balance between privacy protections and the technology’s potential value in criminal investigations and searches for missing or vulnerable people.
“Just as indiscriminately capturing and retaining information about every passing vehicle for extended periods of time may understandably make members of our community uncomfortable, destroying or attempting to completely eliminate technology that has legitimate and demonstrated public-safety benefits is not necessarily the answer either,” Scott said.
“There has to be a responsible middle ground.”
Scott said the discussion should involve law enforcement agencies, elected officials, technology companies and residents, with safeguards addressing privacy, accountability and potential misuse.
“Our responsibility is not simply to keep our community safe,” Scott said. “It is to do so while protecting the freedoms and constitutional rights that make our community and our country worth protecting in the first place.”
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