Reactions were mixed from some Southwest Florida law enforcement over a memo from the Florida Department of Transportation to local law enforcement agencies Monday that said their authority to use the cameras on state roads is being withdrawn.
Some web sites show hundreds of the cameras installed across multiple jurisdictions in Southwest Florida.
Some local sheriffs, such as Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell were irked by the move to pull the Flock devices.
"I am very disappointed. Today the criminals are jumping up and down for joy. Again, politicians are having knee jerk reactions to something that really isn't a problem and not looking at what the true benefit of this technology is and how it is being used," he said in a comment sent via email by the CCSO.
Prummell said that if there are people abusing this system, they need to be held accountable just like is done for any other criminal justice system they have access to.
Prummell added: "But you just seriously crippled law enforcement by limiting the use of a great crime fighting tool. Criminals are using technology to commit crime, and we need to use it to catch them. We are seeing all-time low crime rates and all-time high clearance rates because of it. "
But Cape Coral Police Department Chief Anthony Sizemore had a different reaction and said his department would discontinue the use of the license plate-reading technology.
Sizemore posted a lengthy explanation for his decision on the department's web site and said that for more than a decade, the Cape Coral Police Department responsibly used automated license plate reader technology as one of many tools available to its officers and investigators.
"During that time, ALPR technology has helped us solve countless crimes and develop investigative leads that otherwise may not have existed. It has played a role in multiple homicide investigations, helping us identify and apprehend violent offenders who are now serving life sentences in prison.
"It has helped us locate stolen vehicles, identify suspects, find missing people, and ultimately hold criminals accountable. It is a tool. Nothing more—and nothing less," he said in the posting.
Sizemore also said that such tech doesn’t replace good police work but does make good police work more effective.
The chief said he recognized that there are legitimate questions surrounding ALPR technology, including privacy, data retention, access, sharing, and accountability and that those questions deserved thoughtful answers and appropriate safeguards.
"At the Cape Coral Police Department, we have spent more than a decade developing policies and practices designed to ensure this technology is used responsibly, and in a manner consistent with the constitutional rights of the people we serve," he said. "But the environment in Florida has changed."
Sizemore acknowledged that the governor has made his position on ALPR technology clear, inckluding that he supports law enforcement and its mission, but wanted the Legislature to establish safeguards and guardrails by drafting state law governing the use of this technology.
"The Florida Department of Transportation has taken actions affecting the use of this technology on state roadways. At the same time, there remains a lack of clear and consistent statewide statutory guidance establishing the rules under which law enforcement agencies should operate," the chief said. "I don’t believe local law enforcement should be left to navigate that uncertainty on its own. For that reason, I have made the decision to discontinue the use of ALPR technology by the Cape Coral Police Department."
Sizemore said that the removal was not because he believed the technology is inherently bad or that it has been abused here.
"And it certainly isn’t because I believe we should abandon a tool that has proven itself over and over again in solving crime and protecting our community," he said. "I’m doing it because I believe the time has come for our elected officials in Tallahassee to establish a clear legal framework for the responsible use of this technology. Give law enforcement the guardrails. Establish the standards."
Sizemore was scheduled to hold a media briefing Wednesday about his decision.
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