Florida's order to remove automated license plate readers from state highway rights-of-way has not stopped at least one police department from monitoring those same roads. Longboat Key officials have concluded that cameras can simply be moved a few feet onto land outside the state's jurisdiction and continue pointing at Gulf of Mexico Drive, also known as State Road 789.
The Florida Department of Transportation revoked permits for automated license plate recognition systems installed within state highway rights-of-way last month, citing the rapid expansion of the technology alongside reports of misuse, privacy concerns, and what it described as «surveillance schemes.» Agencies were given 30 days to remove affected equipment, after which FDOT could remove it itself.
But the ruling did not make the cameras illegal elsewhere. Town Attorney Maggie Mooney said there is nothing in the state's order preventing a camera located outside the state highway right-of-way from pointing toward the highway. Police Chief Russ Mager said the department is now working with Flock Safety to relocate the affected cameras onto town property or, with permission, private property. Once there, they will remain pointed at Gulf of Mexico Drive.
The approach appears to be spreading. A newly posted video from Florida Cracker News Network appears to show a Polk County Sheriff's Office Flock camera positioned just beyond the right-of-way along State Road 60. The camera sits behind a fence bordering the highway but remains pointed directly toward passing traffic. The video's creator claims the reader was previously located within the state right-of-way and was simply moved behind the property line following FDOT's order. The camera's current placement is clearly visible in the footage, though the claim that it was relocated has not been independently confirmed.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd previously confirmed that his office would comply with FDOT's order while continuing to use license plate readers that are not located within state road rights-of-way. That statement suggests Longboat Key is not exploiting an obscure interpretation that nobody else noticed.
Some Florida departments responded to FDOT's order by going considerably further. Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said his department would shut down its readers entirely, while Jacksonville and Bradford County also moved away from the technology. Flock Safety ALPR networks have faced growing scrutiny over how much information they collect, how broadly that information can be shared, and what happens when someone with legitimate access decides to use it for illegitimate purposes.
Moving the cameras rather than abandoning them may prove to be the simplest way for departments to comply with Florida's order while changing remarkably little about what those cameras actually see. The distinction between a camera inside the right-of-way and one just outside it is a matter of feet, not function. For drivers on Gulf of Mexico Drive and State Road 60, the result is the same: license plate readers continue to watch passing traffic.