After the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) revoked active permits for automatic license plate recognition systems, a city in South Florida announced it would suspend the use of its Flock cameras.
The Pembroke Pines Police Department posted a statement to its social media announcing that it would suspend its use of license plate readers (LPR), effective Wednesday, Sept. 2.
"In light of the recent update from the Florida Department of Transportation, our mayor’s call to suspend the use of license plate readers, as well as consultation with city administration, the Pembroke Pines Police Department will fully suspend its license plate reader programs effective today," reads the statement.
Miami-Dade license plate reading cameras (Flock) suspended
The Miami-Dade County Sheriff's Office previously
posted a similar statement, announcing it would suspend its LPR program in its "entirety."
In a statement posted to social media, Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz and the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office said that "all cameras" located on FDOT property would be "taken offline" by the end of the day on Sept. 1.
Why did Florida revoke Flock camera permits?
The FDOT issued a memorandum on Monday, Aug. 31, announcing that it revoked active permits issued to local law enforcement agencies for automatic license plate recognition systems, such as Flock cameras, installed along state rights-of-way. Local authorities were provided with a 30-day window to remove them.
The memo said that "recent exponential increase in deployments along our roadways, coupled with concerning reports of misuse, data privacy concerns, and surveillance schemes merit immediate action to preserve Floridians' sovereignty and quality of life."
Additionally, according to the memo, the FDOT will not approve future requests "within its jurisdictional authority."
Flock Safety claims it has more than 120,000 cameras installed across 49 states.
What are Flock cameras?
Automated solar-powered cameras, often referred to as Flock cameras after one of the best-known vendors, are showing up along Florida roads, at neighborhood entrances and near businesses.
Police say the cameras that record and analyze everything they see help find stolen cars, locate missing people and generate leads in serious cases. Read more: 10 facts about Flock cameras in Florida and why they're controversial
Sarah Perkel is a South Florida Connect Reporter for the USA TODAY Network's Florida Connect team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Flock cameras 'offline' in this South Florida city. Why permits revoked
