SIGNAL·DATA Preview
License-plate readers · Escambia County

Escambia County

Use suspended · 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

Escambia County Sheriff's Office

Status
Use suspended
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
Count not documented
No agency total found. WEAR reported at least 48 Flock cameras in the Pensacola/Escambia County area as of late 2025 (all agencies combined). NewsRadio 92.3 reported "roughly a third of the agency's cameras sit on state roads."
  1. Aug. 18, 2026 Sheriff Chip Simmons, per a NewsRadio 92.3 paraphrase, called Flock cameras "the most valuable law enforcement tool he has seen in 40 years of law enforcement" and said Flock had announced reforms ECSO already had in place. (NewsRadio 92.3, Aug. 18, 2026)
  2. Sept. 1, 2026 Per NewsRadio 92.3 (paraphrase, no direct quote): the sheriff's cameras "haven't been switched off yet"; the agency is weighing whether to keep running a smaller network without its state-road cameras or pause the program "until there's more legal clarity." No later status found; status is as of Sept. 1, 2026. (NewsRadio 92.3, Sept. 1, 2026)
  3. Sept. 1, 2026 Sheriff Chip W. Simmons issued a written statement that the office "will suspend its use of ALPR camera networks at this time," calling it a temporary pause that should last until there is "a consistent framework for their use," and said the office is working with its legislative delegation, state leaders and the Florida Sheriffs Association on statewide rules. No camera count given. (Rick's Blog, Sept. 1, 2026; WEAR-TV, Sept. 1, 2026)
  4. Sept. 24, 2026 Simmons, discussing the office's voluntary home-camera registry: "Now that we do not have the license plate reader technology available to us" (WEAR). The registry figures (1,272 integrated cameras, 1,439 registered) are home cameras, not ALPRs. (WEAR-TV, Sept. 24, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Conflict (same day): NewsRadio 92.3 (Sept. 1, 2026, published 15:36 UTC) reported the cameras "haven't been switched off yet"; the sheriff's written statement reported by Rick's Blog and WEAR (WEAR published 2:13 PM) the same day says the office will suspend ALPR use. The later statement is treated as current. Physical removal of the state-road cameras not confirmed.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Pensacola Police Department

Status
Use suspended
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
18
Cameras under the 2025 contract; FOX10 reported about 20 cameras, all turned off (Sept. 2, 2026)
Contract
Flock Safety: $108,000 two-year total ($54,000 per year per WEAR) · from July 2025 · to July 2027 (Pensacola News Journal (via AOL), date not shown; WEAR, Feb. 25, 2026)
  1. April 2025 Began a five-camera Flock trial. (Pensacola News Journal (via AOL), date not shown)
  2. July 2025 Mayor D.C. Reeves approved a two-year, $108,000 contract with Flock Safety for 18 cameras. Councilman Charles Bare said the council generally lacks a role in approving such service contracts. The city said the cameras were paid for with opioid settlement money received directly from the state, which it says qualifies as "investigative technology support"; the reporting raised whether that use is permitted. (Pensacola News Journal (via AOL), date not shown)
  3. Sept. 1, 2026 Suspended use of its automated license plate reader cameras. Chief Eric Winstrom: the department is "committed to ensuring every law enforcement tool is utilized in an appropriate and Constitutional manner," pending legislative steps setting the same standards for all ALPR users. (WALA FOX10, Sept. 1, 2026)
  4. Sept. 2, 2026 FOX10 reported the department had about 20 cameras, all already turned off. Winstrom said the department would wait for city input and possible legislative changes: "that's when we'll consider going back." (Count differs from the 18 cameras under the 2025 contract.) (WALA FOX10, Sept. 2, 2026)

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)