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License-plate readers · Pinellas County

Pinellas County

Using license-plate readers · 3 agencies documented

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Pinellas County Sheriff's Office

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety, Motorola Solutions, Axon
Cameras
79
Stationary cameras, per Oct. 8, 2026 workshop coverage (bn9-1008); on Sept. 2, 2026 the sheriff said there are 73 Flock cameras throughout Pinellas County (tb-bn9-0902)
Contract
Flock Safety: $287,000 per year (Bay News 9, Oct. 8, 2026)
  1. Sept. 2026 Complying with the state order to remove cameras from state roads; no broader changes planned. (Axios Tampa Bay, Sept. 1, 2026)
  2. Sept. 2, 2026 Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said the agency will comply with the FDOT order but keep county-owned cameras up. Commissioner Vince Nowicki proposed a resolution asking the county to end ALPR company agreements and remove cameras from county rights of way. (FOX 13 Tampa Bay, Sept. 2, 2026; Bay News 9, Sept. 2, 2026)
  3. Sept. 30, 2026 A former deputy was arrested on four counts of unlawfully accessing a computer system and one count of official misconduct. Per Tampa Bay 28: 300 ALPR searches of a woman's license plate; 381 total searches of her across five databases from January 2025 to July 2026, 207 of them off duty. He resigned Sept. 11. A second former deputy was arrested the same day on database-misuse charges not described as ALPR searches. (Tampa Bay 28 (WFTS), Sept. 30, 2026; FOX 13 Tampa Bay, Sept. 30, 2026; Bay News 9, Sept. 30, 2026)
  4. Sept. 30, 2026 Sheriff's General Order 12-16 (revised July 28) lists Flock Safety, Axon and Motorola as operators of the agency's license-plate reader systems; the in-house system is PLATES LPR Search. Gualtieri: "The audits were there, but we were not focusing on high quantity." "We are now." (Tampa Bay 28 (WFTS), Sept. 30, 2026)
  5. Sept. 30, 2026 Agency said it plans to remove cameras covered by the state order and had not announced a broader program change. (Tampa Bay 28 (WFTS), Sept. 30, 2026)
  6. Oct. 2026 A now-former deputy was arrested on felony charges, accused of misusing the license-plate reader database. (Bay News 9, Oct. 8, 2026; WMNF / Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, Oct. 12, 2026)
  7. Oct. 8, 2026 At the County Commission workshop, Gualtieri said Florida law allows ALPR data to be stored for three years. Nowicki said he planned to propose a resolution ending all ALPR contracts in Pinellas County. (Bay News 9, Oct. 8, 2026)
  8. Oct. 8, 2026 Flock, Axon and Motorola are each "sheriff level" sponsors of Major County Sheriffs of America, which Gualtieri leads; each slot costs $150,000. Gualtieri told commissioners: "I'm not being bought and paid by anybody." (WMNF / Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, Oct. 12, 2026)
  9. Oct. 8, 2026 County Commission workshop on license-plate readers. No vote. Commissioner Vince Nowicki said he wants the cameras taken down; Commissioner Rene Flowers said she is comfortable with the program; Commissioner Brian Scott raised auditing concerns. (Bay News 9, Oct. 8, 2026; WMNF / Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, Oct. 12, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Camera count conflict: 79 stationary (Bay News 9, Oct. 8) vs. 73 Flock cameras (Bay News 9, Sept. 2). The 79 may include non-Flock vendors; not confirmed.
  • Misuse-count conflict: WMNF reported 200 searches; Bay News 9 (Oct. 8) and Tampa Bay 28 reported 300 ALPR searches; Bay News 9 (Sept. 30) and FOX 13 reported 381 searches across databases, citing the sheriff/internal audit. 207 of the 381 were off duty. No arrest affidavit or sheriff's written release was located.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

St. Petersburg Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
50
Total license-plate readers per Chief Anthony Holloway, Sept. 2, 2026; 44 to remain on city streets after state-road removals
Contract
Flock Safety: $730,000 five-year contract (approved 2024) · from 2024 (Axios Tampa Bay, Aug. 26, 2026; St Pete Catalyst, Aug. 26, 2026; Bay News 9, Aug. 27, 2026)
  1. 2022 Flock pilot program began with 25 cameras. (Axios Tampa Bay, Aug. 26, 2026; WUSF / St Pete Catalyst, Aug. 13, 2026)
  2. 2024 City Council approved a $730,000, five-year contract on the consent agenda without discussion, per meeting minutes cited by Axios; expansion to about 50 cameras. (Axios Tampa Bay, Aug. 26, 2026; Bay News 9, Aug. 27, 2026)
  3. Aug. 2026 A camera overlooking the Snell Isle Bridge was spray-painted; third vandalism incident involving SPPD ALPRs in five months. (WUSF / St Pete Catalyst, Aug. 13, 2026)
  4. Aug. 27, 2026 City Council took up Council Member Richie Floyd's item on the Flock contract and referred it to the Public Services and Infrastructure Committee. No tally reported. (Bay News 9, Aug. 27, 2026)
  5. Sept. 2026 Removing 6 cameras on state roads; no other changes, per a department spokesperson. (Axios Tampa Bay, Sept. 1, 2026)
  6. Sept. 2, 2026 Holloway said six of 50 readers are on state roads and will be removed; 44 remain on city-maintained streets. Data stored 30 days; officers must enter a report number and reason; random monthly audits. (FOX 13 Tampa Bay, Sept. 2, 2026)
  7. Sept. 30, 2026 Of five Flock cameras slated for removal, three were removed and two disconnected but still on poles; department said removal is Flock's responsibility. (Tampa Bay 28 (WFTS), Sept. 30, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • State-road count conflict: 6 cameras (Axios, FOX 13, Sept. 1-2) vs. 5 slated for removal (Tampa Bay 28, Sept. 30).
  • Data sharing: DeFlock St. Pete says public records show the city shares data with hundreds of agencies including FWC (group's claim, St Pete Catalyst); not verified against agency records.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Clearwater Police Department

Status
Program documented, current use unconfirmed
Vendors
Flock Safety, Vetted Security Systems
Cameras
Count not documented
Count not stated in council records; the Flock order form attached to ID#21-10071 was not opened
Contract
Flock Safety: $200,000 not to exceed, for LPR equipment, monitoring and maintenance; term expires four calendar years after execution; single source under City Code Section 2.563(1)(a) · from Jan. 20, 2022 (City of Clearwater (Legistar), Jan. 20, 2022)
Contract
Vetted Security Systems: $100,642 one-time purchase of License Plate Recognition equipment from Vetted Security Systems of St. Petersburg, Florida (City Code Section 2.564(1)(d)) · from Nov. 3, 2016 (City of Clearwater (Legistar), Nov. 3, 2016)
  1. Nov. 3, 2016 City Council approved, on consent, the Police Department's purchase of License Plate Recognition equipment from Vetted Security Systems of St. Petersburg for $100,642.00. (City of Clearwater (Legistar), Nov. 3, 2016)
  2. Jan. 20, 2022 City Council approved, on consent, an agreement with Flock Safety of Atlanta for License Plate Reader (LPR) equipment, monitoring and maintenance, not to exceed $200,000.00, expiring four calendar years after execution (single source). Attachments: Flock Government Agency Customer Agreement, Services Agreement Order Form, Implementation Guide, sole-source letter. (City of Clearwater (Legistar), Jan. 20, 2022)
  3. Feb. 6, 2025 City Council approved, on consent, an Interlocal Maintenance Agreement with Pinellas County for the installation, operation and maintenance of Automatic License Plate Readers in county right-of-way (Exhibit A: permit RUP-24-00922). (City of Clearwater (Legistar), Feb. 6, 2025)
Conflicts and open questions
  • No post-Aug. 31, 2026 statement from Clearwater PD found. The four-year Flock term would end in early 2026 if executed near the Jan. 20, 2022 approval; no renewal item appears in Legistar title searches for 'plate', 'LPR', 'Flock' or 'camera' (2024 onward).
  • A separate Feb. 3, 2022 item (ID#22-0017) bought License Plate Recognition equipment from T2 Systems for $167,597.39 under the Public Works department (parking); not counted here as police ALPR.
  • Vendor key 'vetted-security' is new (Vetted Security Systems / Vetted Security Solutions, St. Petersburg); the 2016 item does not name the camera manufacturer.
  • Flock order form and ILA PDFs on legistar2.granicus.com could not be opened (permission request timed out).

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)