On Sep 10, stop Miami Beach from continuing their Flock program

07 Sep, 2026

By Joseph | 4 min read

City of Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner is looking to continue the use of ALPRs in the city by any means necessary. On September 10, stop him from continuing to surveil you.

In the wake of the DeFlock national week of action on August 16-22, in which we took part, we saw some big news come out of Tallahasee. The Florida Department of Transportation announced that all LPRs needed to be removed from state roads in 30 days and no more ALPRs could be installed going forward. The Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office suspended their entire LPR program a day later.

This news was not received well by Mayor Meiner. One of his first moves after the announcement was to stand by the cameras on Instagram, saying "don't disarm our safety tools." Despite the concerns around Americans' fourth amendment right to privacy, Meiner insists that the cameras are critical to keep. This coming from the leader who effectively sent the police to a woman's house for her speech on Facebook. Not starting off on the right foot to say the least.

Comission Meeting to Decide Next Step

On September 10 at the Miami Beach City Comission meeting, this is Mayor Meiner's proposal to circumvent the direction from FDOT that requires ALPRs to come down, based on the agenda for the meeting.

A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, DIRECTING THE CITY ADMINISTRATION TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT, WITH ALL DELIBERATE SPEED, A CITY WIDE PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM TO ENABLE THE INSTALLATION OF LICENSE PLATE READERS ON PRIVATE PROPERTY, WITH THE CONSENT OF THE PROPERTY OWNER, FOR THE PURPOSE OF ENHANCING LAW ENFORCEMENT CAPABILITIES AND STRENGTHENING NEIGHBORHOOD SECURITY, AT A COST NOT TO EXCEED $50,000 UTILIZING BUDGETED FUNDS, WITH SUCH PROGRAM TO INCLUDE APPROPRIATE OVERSIGHT, TECHNICAL STANDARDS, AND PRIVACY PROTECTIONS, INCLUDING PROTOCOLS GOVERNING THE OWNERSHIP, RETENTION, AND ACCESS OF DATA COLLECTED FROM LPRS INSTALLED ON PRIVATE PROPERTY; AND FURTHER, DIRECTING THE ADMINISTRATION TO REPORT BACK TO THE CITY COMMISSION WITH THE PROPOSED PROGRAM FRAMEWORK AND IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINE WITHIN THIRTY (30) DAYS OF THE ADOPTION OF THIS RESOLUTION.

Essentially, Meiner wants to move all of the city's cameras onto private property and then allow the police to continue to have access to the cameras from the new locations. He wants to sidestep a publicly accountable process by relying on the rights of private entities to host surveillance infrastructure.

Contrast that to the proposal from Commissioner David Suarez, which would impose a moratorium on new ALPR installations (taken from the same meeting notes).

A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, IMPOSING A MORATORIUM ON NEW AND EXPANDED AUTOMATED LICENSE PLATE READER (“LPR”) DEPLOYMENTS, PURCHASES, PROCUREMENTS, CONTRACTS, AND DATA-SHARING ARRANGEMENTS PENDING A COMPREHENSIVE 90-DAY REVIEW AND SUBSEQUENT AFFIRMATIVE APPROVAL OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION; ESTABLISHING INTERIM SAFEGUARDS GOVERNING THE CITY’S CONTINUED USE OF EXISTING LPR SYSTEMS AND DATABASES; DIRECTING THE CITY ADMINISTRATION, AND REQUESTING THE ASSISTANCE AND PARTICIPATION OF THE OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY AND, CONSISTENT WITH ITS INDEPENDENT AUTHORITY, THE OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL, TO CONDUCT A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF THE CITY’S USE OF LPR TECHNOLOGY, INCLUDING PRIVACY AND CONSTITUTIONAL CONCERNS, DATA RETENTION, THIRD-PARTY VENDOR ACCESS, INTERAGENCY DATA SHARING, AUDITING, CYBERSECURITY, AND EXISTING CONTRACTUAL ARRANGEMENTS; DIRECTING THAT THE FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF SUCH REVIEW BE REPORTED TO THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION WITHIN 90 DAYS; PROVIDING THAT, FOLLOWING RECEIPT, THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION SHALL REVIEW AND DISCUSS THE FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS AND DETERMINE WHETHER THE CITY’S EXISTING LPR PROGRAM SHOULD CONTINUE, CONTINUE SUBJECT TO ADDITIONAL OR MODIFIED SAFEGUARDS OR RESTRICTIONS, OR BE SUSPENDED; AND PROVIDING THAT THE MORATORIUM SHALL REMAIN IN EFFECT UNLESS AND UNTIL NEW OR EXPANDED LPR ACTIVITY IS AFFIRMATIVELY AUTHORIZED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION.

On the issue of ALPRs, our position is the same, even in light of this mixed bag of news: all ALPRs must come down. A good chunk will come down due to the moves from the state and county governent, but in cities like Miami Beach there will continue to be work to do.

Take Action

If you are a resident of the City of Miami Beach, make your voice heard.

On September 10 at 8:30 AM or 1:00 PM, you can make a public comment to tell your city commissioners that you do not want to be spied on by Flock anymore! No ALPR company should continue to operate in the city. The right to privacy of the city's residents must be respected.

Attend the meeting in person or via the Zoom link here.

You can also contact your representatives and tell them , including your mayor. Their details can be found here.

If you do not live in Miami Beach, send this to someone who does! Everyone who cares about the future of their freedom needs to stand up to mass surveillance today.

Good luck this week. Keep fighting for your rights no matter how the vote goes. If you need more support, please reach out.

Written by Joseph, Organizer

Enthusiast and advocate for digital privacy, cybersecurity, and free & open source software. Hobbyist. Wants to see the world get better.