Sanibel Police Dept Refuse Open Records Request on Flock Safety Cameras
The short version: A records request denial in Sanibel shows why public pressure and FOIA tools matter in the fight against unchecked Flock Safety ALPR surveillance.
Our Take
Business Reform's latest dispatch is a case study in the quiet stonewalling that keeps ALPR surveillance out of public view. The Sanibel Police Department's refusal to hand over basic records on its Flock Safety cameras isn't an isolated hiccup — it's the default posture of agencies that would rather you not know how your plate data is collected, shared, or retained. The creator ties this directly to the Institute for Justice's appeal in the Norfolk case, and smartly turns frustration into action: free templates so ordinary citizens can file their own public records requests for ALPR contracts and policy manuals.
We appreciate that approach because it's exactly the kind of grassroots documentation that has built our own camera map. Every contract, every denial, every redacted policy is a data point in understanding how deep this surveillance network runs and how little oversight actually exists. When a small-town department in Florida won't release a procedure manual, it raises the obvious question — what are they protecting, the public or the vendor relationship?
If you want to see how far this network already stretches, check out our camera map, and if Sanibel's refusal makes your blood boil, don't just watch — act. Our take-action page has the tools to file your own records requests and push back on secrecy in your own backyard.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Business Reform, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.