Clearwater police asked Flock Safety to remove 14 license plate reader cameras from state highway property before a Sept. 30 deadline set by the Florida Department of Transportation.

The department told 10 Tampa Bay that Flock, the Atlanta-based company that manufactures and installs the cameras, is responsible for taking them down. A Flock Safety spokesperson said Wednesday that the company "is working with agencies and is on track to have all LPR cameras relocated or removed by the deadline."

Why the cameras are coming down

The removal stems from an FDOT memorandum issued Aug. 31 by FDOT Chief Operating Officer Will Watts. The order revoked permits for automated license plate readers, known as ALPRs, on state highway rights-of-way and gave agencies 30 days to comply. FDOT cited data privacy concerns and what it called "surveillance schemes."

If agencies miss the deadline, FDOT said it will remove the devices itself.

The order covers only state roads. Cameras on city or county roads are not affected.

The Clearwater Police Department has not publicly disclosed whether it operates additional Flock cameras on non-state roads. The total size of the department's ALPR program remains unclear.

How other Tampa Bay agencies are responding

Clearwater is one of several Tampa Bay agencies working to meet the deadline. Tampa police said all 17 of the department's Flock cameras on state property have already been removed. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said all but one affected camera was down as of Wednesday, with the last scheduled for removal this week.

In Pinellas County, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri faces a larger task. He said his office operates 73 fixed license plate cameras plus mobile units, according to a news conference covered by Tampa Bay 28. Twenty-three of the fixed cameras sit on FDOT rights-of-way and must come down. The remaining 50 on county roads will stay.

Gualtieri objected publicly. At a Sept. 2 news conference in Largo, he said the technology has been in use since 2006 and that removing it would lead to more crime, with "the only winners" being "the criminals."

County ban and state legislation under discussion

The debate extends beyond the state-road order. Pinellas County Commissioner Vince Nowicki proposed ending the county's contracts with Flock and other ALPR providers and removing cameras from county roads altogether. Commissioners took no vote at their Sept. 10 meeting, instead agreeing to discuss the technology with Gualtieri at an Oct. 8 workshop, according to Florida Politics.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said Sept. 1 that the state is considering new legislation to regulate the cameras. He acknowledged the technology has law enforcement value but said data should not be stored long-term or sold by private companies.

Under Florida Statute 316.0777, the requesting law enforcement agency bears the cost of installing and removing ALPR systems on state roads.

The Pinellas County Commission's Oct. 8 workshop is the next scheduled public forum where Clearwater-area residents can hear officials debate the future of the cameras on county roads.