Cocoa Beach Police weighs crime-solving cost and privacy concerns

Municipal police department

“This tool has helped officers within our police department to solve crimes, and its removal will make some crimes more difficult to solve.”
Read the official statement (opens in a new tab)Cocoa Beach Police Department statement on Flock ALPR camerasParagraphs 1-4

Source and context

Official statement

Cocoa Beach Police Department statement on Flock ALPR cameras (opens in a new tab)Paragraphs 1-4

About this source

The department describes the investigative cost of Florida's state-road removal order and acknowledges privacy concerns about continuous tracking.

Archived copy (opens in a new tab)

Before the quotation

The department announced it was removing officer access to cameras on State Road 520 and Highway A1A.

After the quotation

It said its choices were limited by the state order and called the tension between public safety and privacy justified.

How this statement is classified

Mixed or conditional

Responding to: Revoking local law-enforcement permits for plate readers in Florida's state-highway rights-of-way is justified by privacy and misuse concerns.

The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.

Why this label?

The FDOT removal is at issue. The department identifies a public-safety cost and accepts the privacy concern behind the decision, without a categorical endorsement or rejection.

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