(PENSACOLA, FL.) – The City of Pensacola is shutting down its Flock Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) cameras, Police Chief Eric Winstrom confirmed today.
The decision mirrors the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office suspension announced today and follows a statewide order from the Florida Department of Transportation to remove all police ALPRs from state roads.
In an interview with OpGov.News, Chief Winstrom said ALPRs "have been a valuable tool for solving serious crimes."
Photo Credit: City of Pensacola website
“I’ve been involved in a lot of investigations where they have helped solve murders, where they’ve located people that are in danger, so very effective tool,” Winstrom said.
The Police Chief said that the challenge is in getting around the fact that to make this system work efficiently, investigators must access other agencies' cameras, and allow other agencies to access local cameras. When another agency, even from out-of-state, is accessing the cameras, there is no actual verification that the data is being pulled for legal purposes. Until that issue can be resolved, he won’t be welcoming any new ALPR readers.
Winstrom confirmed, "Not just the ALPRs, but the Flock? One and the same. Yeah, those are one and the same."
Winstrom said he was confident the Pensacola Police Department used the system properly and had accountability measures in place, but without statewide rules, the risk of misuse was too high.
“It would take a legislative fix for me to be comfortable to make the change back to use of ALPR’s, whatever that system is,” Winstrom said.
A former First Amendment attorney for the Chicago Police Department, Winstrom said his legal background shaped the decision.
“I have a love for the law; I love the constitution, I see the problems that other countries which don’t have the bill of rights have,” Winstrom said.
He addressed concerns about surveillance technology "sneaking in" through new body camera systems, like Axon.
Pensacola currently uses Motorola WatchGuard cameras, not Axon. Winstrom said if the department had funding to upgrade, the priority would be better image quality and translation tools, not creating a new database.
“I would not look to create some sort of new database of information like the Flock cameras,” Winstrom said. “I would look to upgrade the translation features on body cameras for the translation for those sorts of things for better image quality.”
He also confirmed the city does not operate any other ALPRs. Cameras on toll roads or in private parking garages are not accessible to the PPD.
With Flock coming down, Pensacola joins ECSO in pausing ALPR use until the state sets clearer rules. FDOT gave agencies until September 30 to remove cameras from state right-of-way.
Chief Winstrom said public safety and constitutional rights do not have to compete.
“The balance is that you can have a more effective tool as you take away people’s freedom and at some point in time, it goes against the constitution,” Winstrom said. Advocates who have organized against the cameras called the suspension a direct result of public pressure.
Photo Credit: Jasmine Brown Instagram
Jasmine Brown, who organized with Defensa Gulf Coast, said the fight isn’t over and wants to see a full cancellation of the Flock contract.
“This is what consistent and organized public pressure can do,” Former Mayoral candidate Jasmine Brown said. “For months, I have organized and joined community members in demanding the termination of the Flock contract,” Brown said. “This is a major win, but the suspension isn’t the end.”
To add any information in this report or to share any tips, please contact me at pepper.w@lead4earth.org
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