St. Lucie County law enforcement will remove all automated traffic cameras along county roads by Oct. 13, after their operation led to months of backlash.
In an update at the Sept. 15 Board of County Commissioners meeting, interim County Administrator Mayte Santamaria said at least 66 third-party Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) cameras will no longer be used in St. Lucie.
The county began a 30-day notice period to pull the cameras off county streets Sept. 14. State authorities will remove any remaining cameras left after October. St. Lucie also banned all “active applications” for new cameras “since that time,” Santamaria added.
In total, St. Lucie identified 52 “authorized” cameras in use along county roads, according to a Sept. 4 email Santamaria sent to county municipal and police officials.
Their search also turned up 14 more “unauthorized, unpermitted” ALPR cameras, said Santamaria. “We don’t know who the applicant is there.” For the time being, these will be obscured by black tarps “so they’re not operable.”
Upon this summary, County Commissioner Larry Leet asked Santamaria whether these cameras were counted with or separate from the 52 authorized in police use.
“We are double-checking some signals that interact with the state right of way, as well; so, there might be a handful more,” Santamaria replied (FDOT barred ALPR camera use from state roads Aug. 31). “We haven’t gone through the entire county right-of-way yet.”
St. Lucie identified 67 cameras in use among county law enforcement agencies authorized as early as April 27, 2023, records show. Among this group, 15 were in other jurisdictions, including one near Glades Cut-Off and Midway roads: now a state road.
Flock Safety made 47 of the 52 authorized cameras in county rights-of-way. The Atlanta-based corporation garnered national criticism over their artificial intelligence-driven data collection methods; how they keep the data; and police officers’ unlawful searches using them, including one incident among the Fort Pierce Police Department.
Five more of these cameras were made by Bluewater Telecommunications of Orlando. Three were licensed to Port St. Lucie police; two more are registered with the Florida Department of Corrections, given their location near the St. Lucie Regional Juvenile Detention Center.
Flock Safety and Bluewater did not reply to requests for comment.
The St. Lucie Sheriff’s Department signed the first agreements to buy Flock Safety cameras Sept. 18, 2021, records show.
They bought the first batch of six cameras for $16,500, including other fees. These half-dozen cameras became 14 by March 13, 2023; their acquisition and a two-year subscription with Flock cost the department $74,900.
This deal was annulled six months later, after the state lifted FDOT restrictions. The department’s camera network expanded to 44 devices, which, along with subscription fees, cost $573,400, according to a Dec. 13, 2023, invoice. This included an initial signing fee of $121,400 and recurring annual charges of $113,000.
National controversy led to Florida and St. Lucie rescinding the use of ALPR cameras Aug. 31. Santamaria updated the county commissioners after they voted to remove them, mirroring Port St. Lucie’s vote to limit their use citywide Aug. 24.
Commissioner James Clasby, an opponent of the cameras since their authorization, brought up a non-agenda call for their removal at the Sept. 1 County Board meeting. They approved their removal in a 3-2 vote.
Clasby, Leet and Erin Lowry voted to get rid of the cameras, citing free speech and surveillance concerns. Commission Chair Jamie Lee Fowler and Cathy Townsend dissented, citing a need for more talks with local police leaders; successful cases using ALPR data; and a view that other home security and police cameras made surveillance concerns redundant.