Oviedo, Florida, has approved a lease with Flock Safety for an automated license plate reader (ALPR) network, completing surveillance coverage across all seven cities in Seminole County. The decision creates a stark contrast with Washington state, where some law enforcement agencies are disabling their ALPRs after a court ruled the collected data is a public record.
The debate in Oviedo pitted public safety arguments against civil liberties, with one councilmember citing “real Fourth Amendment privacy issues” in creating a government database of residents’ movements. Unlike Washington, Florida state law explicitly exempts ALPR data from public records requests, shielding it from public view. The system will retain data for 30 days and is intended to be used only for criminal investigations.