JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office continued to defend its use of Flock cameras, posting for a second time this month how the controversial devices “save lives.’
“Why do we support the use of license plate readers?” a post Wednesday on JSO’s Facebook page began. “Because they make our community safer.”
The post - which follows an August 7 post JSO titled “Fact vs. Fiction” - goes on to say that since 2024 the use of cameras helped solve 15 murders, 17 kidnappings, six forcible sex offenses, nearly 100 shootings, and 172 missing-persons cases.
“(License-plate readers) have proven to be an incredibly effective tool in helping solve crimes, locate missing people, and save lives,” the most recent post read.
The cameras used in public and private spaces to record license plates and provide information have been criticized by people concerned about privacy and questioning who is using the information and for what purposes.
The issue reached the Oval Office on Tuesday when a reporter asked President Donald Trump if regulations were needed to address concerns.
JSO’s earlier “Fact vs. Fiction” post labeled as “fiction” that readers identify people’s faces, and as “facts” that police control who accesses the information and that its is strictly used for police investigations.
JSO said in Wednesday’s post that information from readers, for example, helped police rescue a teenage girl kidnapped from her home in Georgia and assisted in locating a killer of a corrections officer at a truck stop.
“We’ve seen that impact firsthand,” the post said. “When someone you love is in danger, you want us to have every responsible tool available to help find them and solve the crime.”
JSO said it uses 141 fixed license-plate readers and nine mobile readers across Duval County. The post did not say whether those included readers on private property or other readers it may have access to.
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