- September 5, 2026
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Photo by Lawr
In the wake of reported misuse by law enforcement agencies and privacy concerns, the Florida Department of Transportation has issued a ban on automated license plate recognition (LPR) systems within the right of way of a road within the state highway system.
In a memo issued Monday from FDOT CEO Will Watts, he writes, “While Florida law limits the issuance of permits for LPR systems to law enforcement agencies, 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 Sarasota Police Department has developed heavy reliance on LPRs and other video technology for use in its recently deployed Real-Time Operations Center.
More than employing LPRs for vehicle tracking, the SPD uses the technology to detect red light violations at select intersections and speeding in several school zones across the city. Cardinal Mooney High School on Fruitville Road, which is otherwise known as State Road 780, is among those school zones. Other state roadways within the city limit are U.S. Highways 41 and 301 and State Road 789, which includes the Ringling Causeway, John Ringling Boulevard and North Boulevard of the Presidents on St. Armands.
As of Tuesday afternoon, FDOT has not responded to questions by the Observer regarding whether the ban applies specifically to school zone speeding and red light cameras.
The move by FDOT comes amid recent reports of internal abuse of the system by law enforcement personnel in multiple agencies across the country. The SPD had an incident of its own when Officer Cory Waiters was fired and arrested for reportedly using the system to track the movements of a Sarasota woman.
The FDOT’s action revokes all LPR-related approvals previously issued by the department and cameras removed within 30 days. It also discontinues all future LPRs placement requests.
The SPD has deployed 87 LPRs throughout the city. The number of how many are located on state roadways was not available.
