Do license plate readers make Coral Springs safer? Less private? What we’re hearing

License plate readers installed across Coral Springs are drawing privacy complaints from residents who want the city to end its contract with Flock Safety.

City officials defend the cameras, citing arrests and recoveries tied to the technology.

FULL STORY: New license plate readers spark privacy concerns in Coral Springs

Here are key takeaways:

• Flock cameras, purchased with a state grant, now cover all major roads in and out of Coral Springs. The devices photograph every passing license plate and check it against a database of crime reports.
• Lifelong resident Louis DeSantis recently asked the City Commission to cancel the city’s contract with Flock. “Allow us to live and travel free without being surveilled on a constant basis,” he said.
• Commissioner Joe McHugh, a former law enforcement officer, defended the program, saying the cameras have helped catch fugitives, homicide suspects, stolen vehicles and missing people. “It has been a tremendous success to the city of Coral Springs and to the residents of Coral Springs,” he said.
• The American Civil Liberties Union’s Jay Stanley warned in a July 2025 article that police using Flock “could target you just because some algorithm has decided your movement patterns suggest criminality.”
• According to Have I Been Flocked, Coral Springs police have performed 82,179 searches across 1,236 days between Dec. 23, 2022, and May 11, 2026. Residents in nine other states have moved to end their cities’ Flock contracts, too.

This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence and using our own originally reported, written and published content. It was reviewed and edited by our journalists.