If gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds is elected in November, he intends to work with law enforcement leadership to establish parameters around Flock cameras and related technology.
Donalds, who previously advocated for a “full and immediate pause” on the adoption of Flock and associated systems, seems to be taking a more gradual approach after a recent conversation he had with the Florida Sheriffs Association.
“What we want to do is work with the Sheriffs Association and Police Chiefs and say, all right, what’s in the wheelhouse of possibilities? And let’s be very clear and direct about what the limitations are, what the policies are around that. We are not going to tolerate abuse of these programs,” Donalds said on the “Bald Eagles” podcast.
As reported last year by GovTech, at least 100 law enforcement agencies in the state use Flock license plate reader (LPR) cameras. Roughly 7,500 LPRs are in Florida, according to WUFT.
While some may want to ban the technology, Donalds, who has been endorsed by 35 Sheriffs and the Florida Police Chiefs Association, believes that is an unrealistic goal given how the “sausage is made.”
“I’m a realist. You have to be able to get that through both the House and Senate in Tallahassee. So what then will happen is you’ll have Sheriffs who’ll come in, and they’ll talk directly to their representatives from their communities. And so you can say whatever you want in a campaign trail, you’ve got to be able to deliver that in policy,” Donalds explained.
“You get up to Tallahassee, then you have to deal with the Sheriffs Association. You have to figure out what are going to be the parameters of what you’re going to do. A couple of Sheriffs that I’ve already talked to about this, they’re saying, in part, these cameras have helped to deter crime and bring down crime rates. And they have the data to show it. So we have to just be, we have to be open-eyed about everything.”
Other Republican candidates for Governor have expressed concerns about the technology. While James Fishback calls for a total ban on the tech, Lt. Gov. Jay Collins and former House Speaker Paul Renner acknowledge concerns but stop short of prohibition.
Democrat David Jolly, who is likely to be Donalds’ General Election opponent, believes search warrants should be required to use the data derived from them.
