NewsWUSF — Tampa Bay NPR (Local & State)August 13, 2026Hillsborough
Tampa Bay resident protests Flock Safety license plate reader cameras
A Tampa Bay resident is physically blocking automated license plate reader (LPR) cameras to protest the continuous collection of vehicle data by law enforcement. The protest highlights ongoing debates regarding privacy, the potential for misuse of surveillance data, and the lack of a warrant requirement for tracking vehicle movements.
Read the full story at WUSF — Tampa Bay NPR (Local & State)Why It Matters
Residents in areas using Flock Safety cameras are subject to continuous tracking of their vehicle's make, model, and location, which law enforcement agencies use for criminal investigations without requiring individual warrants.
Key Facts
- Flock Safety cameras record license plates, vehicle makes, models, colors, and timestamps.
- Flock claims its technology supported over 1 million criminal investigations in 2025.
- Flock claims to have assisted in 20% of solved cases in jurisdictions where deployed.
- Data is typically deleted after 30 days unless an agency sets a different retention period.
- Flock recently announced a new audit tool to flag abnormal search behavior by law enforcement.
- Flock is recommending that law enforcement agencies adopt a 7-day data retention period.
- A Haines City police officer was arrested for using the system 717 times to track his estranged wife.
- Critics argue the system inverts the legal standard of 'individualized suspicion' by collecting data on everyone first.
- St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway stated the cameras do not use facial recognition.
- Privacy advocates argue that a warrant requirement is the minimum necessary safeguard for LPR use.
Who's Mentioned
other10,000“Number of missing people Flock claims to have helped locate.”personMatthew Guariglia“Senior policy analyst with the Electronic Frontier Foundation.”other717“Number of times a Haines City officer accessed cameras to track his wife.”organizationFlock Safety“Manufacturer of license plate reader cameras.”personCarl Gunn“A 77-year-old Tampa Bay resident protesting Flock cameras.”personJean-Luc Adrien“Tampa attorney with Brancato Law Firm.”personAnthony Holloway“St. Petersburg Police Chief.”other1,000,000“Number of criminal investigations supported by Flock in 2025.”