Miami Lakes’ license plate reader cameras have gone offline following an order by the Florida Department of Transportation.
Local law enforcement agencies are required to shut down the cameras on public roads across the state, including the Town of Miami Lakes.
Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office Miami Lakes District Maj. Eddy Ulloa provided an update to the Town Council on September 15.
Councilman Steven Herzberg asked about the cameras and the current plan for the devices that remain off.
“Since we contract with the Sheriff’s Office, the sheriff’s position is to suspend it for the foreseeable future,” Herzberg said.
Herzberg said he just wanted some input and what the next step for the cameras is because there has been no abuse of the camera system in town to his knowledge.
“The way this system works … it’s not facial recognition cameras that are out there,” Herzberg said.
Ulloa said the cameras in Miami Lakes do not use artificial intelligence for facial recognition and AI only provides a snapshot of the make, model and color of the vehicle and the license plate.
“We haven’t had any violations of any policies or misuse of the system as a whole,” Ulloa said.
He said the cameras are straightforward and very basic in the settings they use in town.
“Is there technology out there that is part of FLOCK that exceed what we do? Absolutely,” Ulloa said. “They’re not in the town itself.”
Ulloa said as deputies they have access to those FLOCK cameras in the system, but it’s not something that is used in the town limits; their focus remains on the system in town unless they are looking for someone who has committed a crime.
The system will remain dormant until further notice.