Collier County Removing Cameras Following State Mandate

Collier County Sheriff’s Office announced the removal of 72 license plate readers from state roads over the next month, following the memorandum from Governor Ron DeSantis ordering all LPRs and Flock-based cameras to be removed from state roadways within 30 days. 
DeSantis issued the order through the Florida Department of Transportation on Aug. 31, citing that the rapid expansion of Flock and other LPR systems was "out of control,” during his press conference: "I’m all about having law enforcement have tools to be able to hold criminals accountable. But I don’t want to have this become a surveillance state." 
Following the governor’s order, Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk said the cameras would be removed within the deadline during the Collier County Commissioners Meeting on Sept. 8.  
That includes fixed readers, typically mounted on utility poles, along with mobile units, which are most often used in patrol vehicles.  
While some communities in Florida are fully deactivating their LPR network, Rambosk said cameras on state roads would remain in place, calling them a valuable asset for law enforcement operations. Since 2025, the county has around 127 LPR cameras installed across all roadways, leaving around 55 remaining once those on state roadways are removed. 
“It’s simply a tool for law enforcement and public safety operations,” Rambosk said, citing his office’s standards for employing the use of cameras, and that they’ve so far assisted in solving 500 cases so far this year - primarily around locating missing persons.  
Rambosk said the county retains license plate images for only 14 days, and contracts with the LPR company they use forbid selling or using the data. None of the cameras have live video feeds for facial recognition, and all information is stored on a government-certified secure cloud server, he added. 
Rambosk also said their LRP policy has been submitted for national accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies because of its safety focus, which he said was tailored to prevent misuse. Given how members of the department receive specific training and are only allowed to access data for a lawful purpose, at risk of expulsion from the department otherwise, Rambosk said he felt that Collier County didn’t fall into the descriptor of a surveillance state. 
“When I read and watched his press conference, he said he didn’t want Florida to be a surveillance state. Well, I’m going to tell you I don’t want it. And I don’t think you want it, and I don’t think any of our community wants it. I’ve been doing this for 40 years, and surveillance means I have observation on you with my eyes, with a camera, with something for a lawful criminal purpose, and in many cases it requires a warrant to do that, and that’s normal for us,” Rambosk said.  
“Most importantly, no matter what we’re using, we work within the Constitution, the laws of the state of Florida, and our policy and procedure.” 
Though the sheriff’s office announced the rollback, about 20 residents came to speak out against the use of license plate readers during the commission meeting. While Rambosk asserted during his presentation that his office works within the parameters of the Fourth Amendment, many still expressed concern about misuse by future administrations or federal agencies seeking access to that information.  
“Sheriff Rambosk won’t be here forever,” said resident Pam Cunningham, “As Americans, we should inherently have mistrust of our government.” She added that the courts' decision to uphold the constitutionality of LPRs may not be correct, and insisted they should be removed from the county altogether on all roadways.Other residents echoed similar sentiments, expressing concern about policies that future sheriffs or commissioners may implement. Some also asked where the cameras were placed, if more of the cameras were situated in low-income neighborhoods, which some residents said could be used by federal authorities like ICE to target minority groups. “Once these cameras are in place, the purpose of the data can be shifted without the hardware ever changing,” said resident Donna Adan. “True safety does not come from surveilling citizens. Surveillance cameras and digital oversight are not a sign of a strong, healthy country or nation … local officials are not innovating for the sake of public safety. They are helping to build the infrastructure of a digital tyranny that can be used to enforce the will of whatever regime is in power regardless of what our Constitution says.”Commission Chairman Dan Kowal, a former police officer, followed the public comment period by saying he felt the cameras were tools to help officers in their investigations, no different from body cameras. His comments drew vocal protests from the audience. “This is just a tool, guys. It’s a tool that we have in our toolbox for fighting crime,” said Kowal. “It’s not an invasion of privacy; you’re on public property. You’re in public. Anywhere the human eye can see your car, your license plate, you have no expectation of privacy. That’s just the way the courts have always ruled that.”