Gov. Ron DeSantis, critical of license plate readers, has blocked their use on state roads, warning the cameras could create a “surveillance state.”
But in the past year, DeSantis has approved approximately $4.6 million in requests from local law enforcement agencies for license plate readers in connection with their illegal immigration enforcement efforts. Not all of the money has been disbursed.
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Since September 2025, 18 law enforcement entities, including county sheriff's offices and city police agencies, have requested money for about 440 license plate readers through the State Board of Immigration Enforcement’s grant program.
DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet – Attorney General James Uthmeier, Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia, and Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson – comprise the board.
In 2025, DeSantis asked lawmakers to set aside $250 million for local police for funding related to illegal immigration enforcement, including overtime for officers who participate in operations with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. So far, about $147 million of that money has been approved for grants, but only $21 million has been disbursed.
The cameras, made by Flock Safety and other companies, use artificial intelligence to track suspects and flag speeders. They can also detect the vehicle make, model, color, and speed of the car, even in low-light conditions.
In the funding requests, law enforcement agencies were transparent about their intent for the license plate readers. St. Johns County, for example, asked for 23 license plate readers and nine trailers to deploy “to various checkpoints or areas within the county as intelligence dictates.”
“The fixed LPR cameras would be placed in high-traffic areas such as Interstate 95 (I-95). It is well established these thoroughfares are known for human smuggling of illegal immigrants to avoid detection,” the request says.
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The request also says St. Johns County would store data for up to one year.
“This allows law enforcement to develop a pattern of life to potentially identify home and work locations and plan enforcement actions,” it says.
DeSantis has consistently backed law enforcement, pushing for bonuses for new recruits and pay increases for state law enforcement officers, but at a press conference Monday he warned of the power of license plate readers and argued the potential of abuse is too great.
“If they can create a dossier on your movements, they would be able to make a fortune in selling that to companies for advertising and product placement,” he said.
Reports of misuse by police in Florida and around the country have sparked a bipartisan backlash. In Sarasota in August, a police officer was charged with two felonies and a misdemeanor for misusing the license plate reader system. And in Haines City, a police officer repeatedly searched for his ex-wife’s license plate number hundreds of times over a two-year period.
The governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
In the 18 fund requests to the State Board of Immigration Enforcement for license plate readers, the price varies among law enforcement agencies. For example, Orange County asked for the most license plate readers, 97, for a total of $640,200. However, Collier County’s tab is the largest, with $1,275,600 for just 50 license plate readers.
The State Board of Immigration Enforcement also approved requests for some of Florida’s smallest municipalities. For example, Cross City, a rural town 50 miles west of Gainesville with a population of 1,689 according to the 2020 Census, was approved for eight license plate readers for $20,000. Havana, a small town 16 miles northwest of Tallahassee with a population of 1,753, was approved for six cameras for $57,900.
On Monday, after a memo from the Florida Department of Transportation to local law enforcement agencies stated that the authority to use cameras on state roads was being withdrawn, some of the agencies that were approved for state funding for license plate readers came out with statements saying they would shut down their programs.
The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, which was approved for $29,750 to purchase seven license plate readers, terminated the agency’s use of and access to Flock camera data and removed them from major thoroughfares, Sheriff Wayne Ivey stated in a Facebook post.
In Bradford County, Sheriff Gordon Smith directed his office to stop using license plate readers throughout the entire county, not just state roads.
“These systems have helped us work cases and find people who needed to be found. They are a useful tool,” Smith stated in a Facebook post. “But the state has made its decision, and I have heard from people in our community who are uneasy about this technology. Given both of those things, I believe the right call right now is to take them down.”
Bradford County was awarded $77,200 to purchase eight license plate readers in February of this year.
Other areas that didn’t request LPRs through the grant program are shuttering their cameras, too. Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters and Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood are among those shutting down their LPRs.
According to the FDOT memo, local law enforcement agencies that previously received a permit to use the cameras must take them down within 30 days.
“Further, as of the date of this memorandum, the Department will use its discretionary authority to cease the issuance of all future requests for LPR systems within its jurisdictional authority,” FDOT chief operating officer Will Watts wrote.