The Pasco County Sheriff's Office is replacing about 60 license plate reader cameras countywide with new technology from Axon, and one of the first locations is the intersection of Collier Parkway and State Road 54 in Land O' Lakes.
Undersheriff Chase Daniels told Tampa Bay 28 the switch from Flock Safety cameras to Axon will save the agency roughly $50,000 while integrating with equipment deputies already carry.
"So on top of being easier to integrate with our existing systems, they are also about $50,000 cheaper than the Flock cameras that we currently have," Daniels said.
The total camera count stays the same.
Axon already supplies the Sheriff's Office with body-worn cameras, Tasers and its digital evidence management system.
Six permits filed along SR-54
Public records show the Sheriff's Office filed six right-of-way permit applications on Friday, July 31 for Axon automated license plate reader cameras at these intersections:
- Northbound Madison Street at SR-54, New Port Richey
- Northbound Rowan Road at SR-54, New Port Richey
- Northbound Little Road at SR-54, New Port Richey
- Northbound Gunn Highway at SR-54, Odessa
- Northbound Collier Parkway at SR-54, Land O' Lakes
- Northbound Bruce B. Downs Boulevard at County Line Road, Wesley Chapel
The permits are under review. No installation timeline has been announced.
Pasco County has roughly 170 license plate readers overall when counting those on private property such as store parking lots and subdivision entrances.
What happens to the data
The cameras scan passing vehicles and license plates, letting deputies flag cars tied to felony investigations and missing-person cases. Sheriff's Office policy limits data retention to 30 days and restricts searches to those case types.
Daniels told Tampa Bay 28 the agency is aware of residents' privacy concerns and has adopted policies to address them.
Jeff Cannon, a Pasco County resident who has spent months researching agreements between law enforcement and camera companies, said the vendor change does not resolve his concerns about how plate data can be shared beyond the Sheriff's Office.
Cannon pointed to language in the existing Flock contract that he said gives the company permission to use collected data. Daniels told the station that any outside agency accessing Pasco's data must follow the office's 30-day retention standard.
A key technical difference: Flock operates a national lookup network that lets officers in one jurisdiction search cameras across the country, according to 404 Media. Axon does not have a national network, limiting data sharing to bilateral agreements between agencies.
Pasco joins several jurisdictions that have also switched from Flock to Axon, including Syracuse, New York, and Douglas County, Colorado.
Residents with questions about the camera program can contact the Pasco County Sheriff's Office non-emergency line at 727-847-8102 or submit tips online at PascoSheriff.com.
