by SC Reporter Emilie Alfino
At its August 18, 2026, meeting and in subsequent discussions, the City Council considered the Sanibel Police Department’s (SPD) use of Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) technology, including data ownership, privacy, outside-agency access, and the capabilities of the current Flock Safety system.
The City has used ALPR technology since 2008 and has used Flock since 2022.
As directed by the City Council, SPD disabled statewide and nationwide search and data-sharing capabilities in the Flock system. Outside agencies therefore cannot search Sanibel data through those networks. SPD has also advised that it cannot receive automated hot-list alerts through the ALPR system.
At its October 8, 2026, meeting, the City Council directed staff to evaluate mainstream, comparable alternatives to Flock to help the City Council determine whether to retain the current system, select a replacement, or discontinue ALPR use.
Information Technology and SPD identified three major commercially available ALPR systems as alternatives to Flock: Motorola Vigilant L6Q, Genetec Cloud Runner, and Axon Outpost. All three have an existing lead-agency agreement with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), a consideration for use of FDLE hot lists.
SPD reports that all three alternatives meet its functional and operational requirements, store data in the cloud, provide contractual City data ownership, permit the City to select which local law-enforcement partners (if any) may access its data, use self-contained solar-powered cameras with connectivity, support user-activity auditing and daily traffic counts, and do not provide facial recognition. The systems also offer additional capabilities beyond the City’s current Flock configuration; the acceptability of any such capabilities remains a policy consideration for the City Council.
CAPABILITIES COMMON TO ALL THREE ALTERNATIVES
• Meets the Sanibel Police Department’s functional and operational requirements.
• Stores Sanibel data in the cloud.
• The agreements state that the City owns the data.
• Allows the City to selectively determine which local law enforcement partners, if any, can access its data.
• Self-contained systems with solar power and data connectivity.
• Provides capabilities not available in the City’s current Flock system. The ALPR vendors continue to add capabilities to their ALPR systems, and that will continue. For example, object motion tracking.
• No facial recognition.
• Individual users’ actions within the system are auditable.
• Maintains the capability to get daily traffic counts.
The SPD must now review the three major alternatives to Flock and decide whether the City should remain with Flock or choose another provider.
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