Okaloosa County, FL Flock Contract

Who approved this?

No approval document for this contract has been found yet. The records request guide shows which office holds it.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office ran 79 Flock Safety license plate reader cameras countywide, including 28 placed by permit on 26 county maintained roadways, with roughly 100 readers of all types across the county once state roads and city systems are counted. Mid Bay News traced the program to a 2021 subscription agreement with Flock Safety and a purchase order of 196,875 dollars covering 75 cameras, at about 2,500 dollars per camera per year. The Board of County Commissioners never voted on the deployment; permits were issued at staff level, and Chairman Trey Goodwin said at a January 2026 informational briefing that the cameras surprised him as much as the residents asking about them. Deputy County Administrator Jason Autrey briefed commissioners Trey Goodwin, Sherri Cox, Paul Mixon and Drew Palmer, and no board action was required or taken. The agency's own question and answer page sets retention at 30 days for captured reads, keeps evidence indefinitely in Evidence.com, expires hot list entries after 30 days, and says a system administrator runs periodic audits; outside agencies need administrator permission plus credentials and an investigative reason. Mid Bay News reported more than 7,000 searches between November 1 and December 8, 2025, and 507 outside agencies given access through sharing networks. Sheriff Eric Aden began removing and suspending the program on August 31, 2026, after the Florida Department of Transportation memo signed by chief operating officer Will Watts revoked permits on state rights of way and gave agencies 30 days to pull the equipment.