Fort Myers Beach awaits removal of Flock Safety cameras

Flock Safety has not removed its license plate cameras from the bridges on Fort Myers Beach, nearly a month after the town deactivated them following the termination of their contract. Jared Tibbs, a Fort Myers Beach resident, initially supported the cameras. "It sounded, first, it was a good thing because it was promoted as following possible criminals, possible events happening that law enforcement needed to follow," Tibbs said. However, his perspective changed when he learned the cameras recorded information from all vehicles they captured. "The everyday person doesn't need to be tracked. There's no point in that," Tibbs said. "It leaves it open for everyone to be tracked at any time, at any place." Fort Myers Beach deactivated the cameras three weeks ago after paying $3,000 to end its contract with Flock Safety. The town had signed the agreement in 2022, spending $15,000 annually for six cameras. Officials said Flock Safety informed them last week that the cameras would be removed sometime soon. Visitor Jon Bunda said he believes the technology was a helpful tool. "I think it was an additional resource that they were trying to use, and that's all it was," Bunda said. "If you're not doing wrong, then what's the problem, right?" Town Manager Will McKannay recommended ending the contract, citing concerns that the town did not have an agreement with the Lee County Sheriff's Office to review how deputies used the data collected by the cameras. Across the U.S., many people have expressed concerns that law enforcement may misuse license plate reader technology, though Bunda said he does not share that view. "You have a bad apple everywhere. I mean, you're never going to get away from that anywhere, but I think the benefits outweigh the risks for that, for sure," Bunda said. Tibbs said he is worried the issue may not be fully resolved. "If they choose to go to another license plate reader, I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there," Tibbs said. Fort Myers Beach does not currently have plans to implement another license plate reader system. Officials said Flock Safety has not set a date for when it will remove the cameras, but the town is waiting for the company to take them down. DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV.