Documented Incident
St. Johns County sheriff defends Flock cameras as commissioners delay decision on $500,000 in funding
Event: September 15, 2026 · First reported: September 16, 2026 · 2 sources
At a September 15, 2026 budget hearing, St. Johns County Sheriff Rob Hardwick defended the agency's use of Flock Safety license plate readers, citing case examples and 2026 recovery and arrest statistics, while acknowledging past data practices needed reform. Residents raised civil liberties and privacy objections, and Commissioner Christian Whitehurst pushed for an immediate moratorium. The county attorney cautioned that because the sheriff is a constitutional officer, a moratorium may not be the proper mechanism, though the board controls his budget and right-of-way permits. Commissioners approved the $1.9 billion 2027 budget and agreed to spend two weeks reviewing legal options before acting on the cameras.
The hearing illustrates the limits of county commission authority over an independently elected sheriff's surveillance decisions, a structural question facing many Florida jurisdictions. It also shows a state transportation agency's right-of-way rules becoming a practical constraint on ALPR placement.
Key facts
- The Florida Department of Transportation notified the agency to remove Flock cameras from state rights-of-way within 30 days; Hardwick said roughly half of about 182 cameras would come down and there are no plans to relocate them.
- Officials said data retention was cut from three years under a prior administration, to one year, and now to 30 days, with fewer authorized users and supervisor approval required for hot-list entries.
- Chief Kevin Cronin said the office previously shared data with agencies nationwide but has since stopped, and said the system does not use facial recognition or collect cellphone data.
- Hardwick cited 2026 figures including 29 stolen vehicles recovered, 35 wanted persons arrested, 132 felony charges cleared and 35 missing persons recovered.
- Officials said about 100 additional license plate readers in the county are owned by homeowners associations, separate from the Sheriff's Office system.
Sources
This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.
- St. Johns County Sheriff defends Flock cameras, cites crimes solved as commissioners vote to approve $1.9B 2027 budget (Headtopics, September 16, 2026)
- St. Johns County Sheriff defends Flock cameras, cites crimes solved as commissioners vote to approve $1.9B 2027 budget (News4jax, September 16, 2026)
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BlockFlockNow documents reported incidents involving Flock Safety cameras and automated license plate readers: council votes, contract decisions, misuse by authorized users, lawsuits, audits, and community response. Every record is reviewed by a person before publication. New to the topic? Start with What is Flock?, find meetings near you, or learn how to request your town's camera records.
Updated September 16, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.