Miami Beach city commissioners voted unanimously Thursday, September 10, to direct officials to develop a three-point plan involving license plate reader cameras on state roads across the city, a move that keeps the surveillance network intact for now and lines up behind Mayor Steven Meiner's defense of the technology. The plan gives the city time to negotiate with state officials, explore moving cameras onto private property, and shore up privacy protections before any cameras actually come down.
The fight traces back to a memo issued August 31 by the Florida Department of Transportation, which revoked all general use permits for automated license plate readers on state right-of-way roads statewide, according to Claims Journal. That order gave local agencies just 30 days to pull the devices, and as reported by WSVN, city officials only recently learned they had that 30-day window to comply or risk having Florida Department of Transportation crews remove the readers themselves.
Roughly half of Miami Beach's approximately 40 installed license plate reader cameras sit on state-controlled rights-of-way, per WLRN. Those state-road cameras would be subject to the state mandate. Miami Beach is now seeking an extension from the state to keep using cameras on those state roads, and the city plans to pursue modifications to how the cameras can be deployed there, according to WSVN's reporting.
Meiner Says Cameras Are Crucial to Fighting Crime
Meiner has publicly backed the cameras throughout the dispute, saying they have been crucial in helping local law enforcement fight crime, per the same WSVN account. He said the city aims to address privacy concerns while continuing to use the technology effectively, a balance commissioners are now trying to formalize through the moratorium and a set of enhanced safeguards.
Miami Beach officials will determine whether a $50,000 budget would allow the city to relocate cameras currently on state roads onto private property instead, WSVN reports. If the extension request to the state falls through, the city may turn to private property volunteered by owners for camera placement, though officials have said Miami Beach will not force any private property owner to participate.
Opponents of the cameras have raised concerns about privacy risks tied to the devices' constant monitoring, a tension at the center of the broader statewide debate over automated surveillance. Miami Beach Police operate their municipal license plate readers through Motorola Solutions and Axon Outpost rather than direct contracts with Flock Safety, while private homeowner associations have also been discussed in the broader Flock-camera debate. The city had previously run a three-month trial of Flock's software two years earlier before declining a full contract, the paper notes.
Statewide Order Followed Sarasota Misuse Case
The state's crackdown followed a high-profile misuse case out of Sarasota. Governor Ron DeSantis urged restrictions on license plate readers in late August 2026, citing privacy risks and the arrest of former Sarasota police officer Corey Waiters on two felony counts, according to Fox 13 Tampa Bay. An investigation found Waiters ran 355 searches on a single license plate using Flock software, including 121 searches in a single day, and the improper tracking was uncovered by a news reporter rather than internal department oversight, the station reported.
Florida had amassed more than 7,000 active Flock Safety cameras statewide by August 2026, per Fox 13 Tampa Bay's reporting. That rapid proliferation, paired with the Sarasota case, set the stage for the FDOT memo and the governor's broader push against what he warned could turn Florida into a digital surveillance state.
Miami Beach Leads Coalition of Mayors Seeking a Pause
Meiner did not fight the state mandate alone. On September 1, he organized a coalition of seven Miami-Dade mayors who sent a joint letter to Governor DeSantis and FDOT requesting a pause on the 30-day removal order, according to Florida Politics. Mayors from Bal Harbour, Bay Harbor Islands, Golden Beach, Indian Creek Village, Sunny Isles Beach, and Aventura joined the effort.
Not every agency chose to push back. Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz announced the county was suspending its entire license plate reader program on September 1, taking 84 county-owned Flock cameras offline across both state and local roads, per WLRN. South Florida had maintained more than 1,000 active automated license plate readers before the state crackdown began, according to CubaHeadlines.
Other Florida jurisdictions moved quickly to comply as well. Tampa Police pulled 17 readers from state roads, Pinellas County agencies took down 29 cameras, and cities including Atlantic Beach suspended automated license plate reader use entirely, Florida Politics reported. Tampa and Pinellas County opted to preserve only cameras situated on non-state municipal roads rather than seek exemptions.
What Happens Next
Miami Beach's defense of its camera network fits into a broader public safety push under Meiner aimed at hardening police infrastructure and curbing rowdy tourism, including the city's spring break enforcement campaigns, according to WLRN. The city's spring break enforcement efforts were another part of that broader public safety push.
City commissioners plan to enhance safety measures within the existing license plate reader systems and will outline further enhancements to privacy safeguards, per WSVN. Miami Beach is set to return with plans addressing three matters — the state extension request, the private property relocation option, and the enhanced privacy safeguards — at the next city commission meeting, scheduled for October 14.
