SIGNAL·DATA Preview
License-plate readers · Columbia County

Columbia County

Using license-plate readers · 2 agencies documented

← Statewide map
Alachua CountyBaker CountyBay CountyBradford CountyBrevard CountyBroward CountyCalhoun CountyCharlotte CountyCitrus CountyClay CountyCollier CountyColumbia CountyDeSoto CountyDixie CountyDuval CountyEscambia CountyFlagler CountyFranklin CountyGadsden CountyGilchrist CountyGlades CountyGulf CountyHamilton CountyHardee CountyHendry CountyHernando CountyHighlands CountyHillsborough CountyHolmes CountyIndian River CountyJackson CountyJefferson CountyLafayette CountyLake CountyLee CountyLeon CountyLevy CountyLiberty CountyMadison CountyManatee CountyMarion CountyMartin CountyMiami-Dade CountyMonroe CountyNassau CountyOkaloosa CountyOkeechobee CountyOrange CountyOsceola CountyPalm Beach CountyPasco CountyPinellas CountyPolk CountyPutnam CountySanta Rosa CountySarasota CountySeminole CountySt. Johns CountySt. Lucie CountySumter CountySuwannee CountyTaylor CountyUnion CountyVolusia CountyWakulla CountyWalton CountyWashington County

Columbia County Sheriff's Office

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
11
"Number of LPR and other cameras": 11, per the agency's Flock transparency portal (last updated Dec. 11, 2025; viewed Oct. 16, 2026).
Data sharing
Transparency portal names no agencies with access; states data "is never sold to 3rd parties."
  1. Dec. 11, 2025 Transparency portal (last updated date): 30-day retention; 138,424 vehicles detected and 20,019 hotlist hits in the prior 30 days; hotlists include NCIC, FCIC, NCMEC Amber Alert and FBI National Hotlist; prohibited uses listed include immigration enforcement and traffic enforcement. (Flock Safety / Columbia County Sheriff's Office, Dec. 11, 2025)
  2. Sept. 1, 2026 The Sheriff's Office declined to say whether it would remove cameras on state roads or elsewhere; WCJB said a public-records request for internal memos returned no documents. (WCJB, Sept. 1, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Status is based on the transparency portal, which was still online Oct. 16, 2026 but last updated Dec. 11, 2025. Post-FDOT-order status not confirmed; public-records request recommended.

From agency records.

Lake City Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
Count not documented
No camera count found in a primary source.
Contract
Flock Safety: agreements for license plate readers and audio detection devices dating to 2023 (in Aug. 3, 2026 agenda packet); amounts not reported · from 2023 (News4JAX (WJXT), Aug. 3, 2026)
  1. Aug. 3, 2026 City Council voted 3-2 against Resolution No. 2026-094, which would have placed a nonbinding referendum on license-plate reader cameras on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot. Voting against: Ricky Jernigan, Chavella Young, Tammy Harris. Council member James Carter introduced the resolution; the other votes in favor were not itemized by name. Police Chief Gerald Butler defended the program and said access requires dual authentication, a case number and a call number, with audits of all activity. (WCJB, Aug. 3, 2026; News4JAX (WJXT), Aug. 3, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Post-FDOT-order status not found. Butler also referenced a state-owned Flock camera near a gun range in Lake City.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Statewide

  1. Aug. 31, 2026 The Florida Department of Transportation revoked permits and ordered all automated license-plate readers off state roads within 30 days. Gov. Ron DeSantis: "I don't want to have this become a surveillance state." (Axios Tampa Bay, Sept. 1, 2026; WUSF, Sept. 2, 2026)
  2. Sept. 30, 2026 The 30-day deadline for removing license-plate readers from state roads passed. (Florida Phoenix, Sept. 30, 2026)