Jacksonville Sheriff Pauses 150 Flock Cameras as Red-State Republicans Turn Against Plate Readers
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 5
Jacksonville Sheriff Pauses 150 Flock Cameras as Red-State Republicans Turn Against Plate Readers
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 5
Summary
Jacksonville’s sheriff halted his agency’s 150-camera Flock program on Monday, just a week after promoting the system’s role in solving a kidnapping and other crimes.
Greg Abbott last week told Texas police to stop using state money on Flock cameras, and Ron DeSantis’s administration soon ordered the systems removed from Florida state roads.
Those moves reflect growing backlash over license-plate readers’ expanding surveillance databases and the risk of misuse by individual officers, despite police arguments that the cameras help track vehicles tied to crimes.
The fight has become a campaign issue in several states, with bipartisan opposition pushing departments to dismantle systems that had spread by the tens of thousands on U.S. roads.