Teresa Sargeant
Key Points
- The Apopka Police Department will remove automated license plate readers from Florida state highway rights-of-way within 30 days as directed by FDOT.
- FDOT revoked all approvals for license plate readers along state roads due to privacy concerns and misuse reports.
- The city budget for fiscal year 2027 allocates $30,000 for subscription services supporting license-plate reader technology used in crime detection.
The Apopka Police Department (APD) said it will comply with a state directive requiring local law enforcement agencies to remove automated license plate readers from rights-of-way along Florida’s state highway system.
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) issued the directive Monday, revoking approvals previously issued to local law enforcement agencies for license plate recognition systems within state road rights-of-way. Agencies have 30 days to remove affected equipment.
“ALPR technology has been a valuable law enforcement tool for APD,” APD said in a statement issued Wednesday. “It has assisted officers and investigators in identifying vehicles associated with criminal activity, recovering stolen vehicles, locating wanted/missing persons, and apprehending individuals involved in serious crimes.”
FDOT said state law gives the department authority to approve or deny requests from local law enforcement agencies to place license-plate recognition systems within state highway rights-of-way and to remove the equipment at its discretion.
“The recent exponential increase in deployments along our roadways, coupled with concerning reports of misuse, data privacy concerns, and surveillance schemes merit immediate action to preserve Floridians’ sovereignty and quality of life,” the FDOT memorandum states.
FDOT said approvals for equipment placed within state rights-of-way are temporary. The department said it will remove devices that remain after the 30-day deadline and will cease approving future requests for license-plate recognition systems within its jurisdiction. The action is outlined in Engineering and Operations Memorandum 26-01, “Revocation of General Use Permits for Automated License Plate Readers.”
The city’s tentative fiscal year 2027 budget retains $30,000 for Flock license plate readers under Police Field Services. The budget describes the expenditure as supporting annual subscription services for license plate reader technology used for crime detection, investigations and real-time situational awareness. The city notes that the funding level is unchanged from the prior year.
APD’s statement did not specify how many of its readers are affected by the FDOT directive, where they are located, whether they will be relocated or what removal or relocation could cost.
According to APD, license plate reader data is retained for 30 days unless it is lawfully preserved in connection with an authorized criminal investigation or otherwise required by law. Officers must have a legitimate law enforcement purpose to access or search the data, and searches must be associated with and documented by an official case number or other authorized law enforcement investigation.
APD also said it conducts quarterly audits to review system activity and ensure searches and access comply with department policy and serve legitimate law enforcement purposes. Administrative reviews monitor authorized users, system access, information-sharing practices and compliance with department policy.