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License-plate readers · Lee County

Lee County

Using license-plate readers · 3 agencies documented

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Lee County Sheriff's Office

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
  1. Sept. 1, 2026 Sheriff Carmine Marceno (on X): "We will comply with the orders by our State partners while the legislature straightens the rules." (WGCU, Sept. 2, 2026; Fort Myers Beach Observer, Sept. 2, 2026)
  2. Sept. 2, 2026 LCSO monitors four Flock readers paid for by the Town of Fort Myers Beach (two on the Matanzas Pass Bridge, two on the Big Carlos Pass Bridge) through an agreement with Flock Safety. The town's 2023 five-year Flock contract is $15,000 per year ($75,000 total). Town Manager Will McKannay said he would ask the council to end the town's contract. LCSO Cmdr. Anita Iriarte said the agency would respond "as the next 30 days evolve" regarding the state-owned Matanzas Pass Bridge. (Fort Myers Beach Observer, Sept. 2, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Vendor 'flock' is established only through the Fort Myers Beach arrangement; no source opened gives LCSO's own camera count or contracts. Needs a public-records request.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Cape Coral Police Department

Status
Use suspended
Vendors
Vendor not named in source
  1. Sept. 1, 2026 Chief Anthony Sizemore said the department will stop using license-plate reader technology, which it had used for more than a decade. He said the decision reflects a lack of clear state law, not abuse locally: "It is a tool. Nothing more—and nothing less." He asked the Legislature to set statewide rules. (WGCU, Sept. 2, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • No source opened gives camera count, vendor or contract status.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Fort Myers Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Vendor not named in source
Cameras
Count not documented
'only a few' LPRs, some in patrol vehicles and some stand-alone in neighborhoods (DOJ award description, 2024); 2 cameras taken down under the FDOT order and not relocated (Oct. 2026)
  1. 2018 Department has used license plate readers since 2018, per an undated Fox 4 report; city council approved applying for a $42,799 DOJ grant for more readers. (Fox 4 (WFTX), date not shown)
  2. 2024 DOJ FY2024 JAG award of $41,568 to the City of Fort Myers/FMPD to purchase five additional LPR systems; description says the department has LPRs in patrol vehicles and stand-alone readers in neighborhoods. Award page shows status 'Awarded, but not yet accepted.' (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, 2024)
  3. Oct. 1, 2026 Department reported taking down two cameras and said they were not relocated. (WINK News, Oct. 1, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Grant amounts differ: $42,799 (Fox 4, undated) and $41,568 (federal award record, 2024). They may be different grant years.
  • Vendor not named. No source states whether in-car readers remain in use.

From agency records.

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)