Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw says he has no plans to remove the county’s license plate-reading cameras, despite questions from county commissioners about whether the technology could track ordinary drivers. In an interview with WPBF 25 News Investigates, Bradshaw said the Sheriff’s Office also has an exemption that lets its cameras stay on state roads, even though the Florida Department of Transportation has ordered license plate readers removed from state rights-of-way.
Bradshaw credited the cameras with helping authorities find Ryan Routh after the September 2024 assassination attempt against President Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf course. A witness recorded the plate of Routh’s vehicle as he fled, and an alert placed him on Interstate 95 heading north. Authorities stopped him in Martin County. Bradshaw said the cameras have also helped deputies find missing people with Alzheimer’s disease.
Commissioner Joel Flores raised concerns at a recent county workshop about whether the expanding Flock network could reconstruct where residents go, including trips to doctors, churches and schools, without a warrant. Bradshaw rejected the word surveillance and said the images show vehicles and plates, not drivers’ faces. He said deputies must enter a case number and explanation before searching, and that the office conducts weekly audits. Those audits happen after a search, however.
At the workshop, Sheriff’s Office officials said the exemption request was still under state review. Bradshaw now says it is in place, and WPBF has not independently confirmed that. Flores has proposed pausing new Flock permits while commissioners get more answers. Bradshaw said the office plans to respond to those questions. He estimated about 50 Flock cameras are in use, along with other license plate readers, mostly along major county roads.
