Moving a surveillance camera onto private property does not make it stop watching the same road. That is reportedly what happened in Polk County after Florida’s Department of Transportation drew a jurisdictional line on Aug. 31, 2026.
The Order Said “Move the Hardware.” It Did Not Say “Stop Looking.”
The gap between where a camera sits and what it sees turns out to be wide enough to drive through.
ALPR cameras do one thing with unsettling efficiency: they photograph your vehicle, read your plate, and log where you were and when. Over time, that data becomes a searchable record of your movements.
FDOT’s Engineering and Operations Memorandum No. 26-01 revoked all existing permits for ALPR equipment in state highway rights-of-way, according to reporting by recordinglaw.com and WFTV. Agencies had until Sept. 30 to remove the hardware or risk FDOT pulling it themselves. What the order did not cover: cameras on county roads, municipal streets, or private property…