Demand St. Johns County Halt Warrantless Public Mass Surveillance Technology
The Issue
The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office has rapidly expanded a warrantless mass surveillance dragnet across St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra, and our surrounding thoroughfares. This network currently includes over 160 active Flock Safety Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) and facial recognition capabilities that actively log the movements of drivers across our communities.
While private property owners have every right to protect their own homes and businesses with security tools, a major line is crossed when the government uses a corporate-owned infrastructure to monitor public roads. Day in and day out, this network compiles a permanent, searchable database of law-abiding citizens going about their daily routines—capturing everyone without an explicit warrant or probable cause.
Reversing the foundational American principle of being innocent until proven guilty, this continuous dragnet creates massive cybersecurity vulnerabilities, risks personal data abuse, and functions as an ongoing encroachment on our constitutional rights under the guise of public safety.
We must ask our local government a fundamental question: Where does the line get drawn? When will enough surveillance be too much surveillance? If logging our physical locations and tracking our daily commutes isn’t a violation of our Fourth Amendment rights today, then when is it?
Our Demands:
We, the residents and taxpayers of St. Johns County, call upon Sheriff Robert Hardwick and the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners to protect our shared freedom and privacy by taking the following actions:
Decommission and remove all Flock Safety ALPR systems and facial recognition integrations currently operating on public property within county lines.
Enact a strict county ordinance requiring mandatory public notices, open hearings, and explicit County Commission approval before any future mass surveillance technology can be tested, bought, or deployed using public funds or state grants.
“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” — Benjamin Franklin
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The Issue
The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office has rapidly expanded a warrantless mass surveillance dragnet across St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra, and our surrounding thoroughfares. This network currently includes over 160 active Flock Safety Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) and facial recognition capabilities that actively log the movements of drivers across our communities.
While private property owners have every right to protect their own homes and businesses with security tools, a major line is crossed when the government uses a corporate-owned infrastructure to monitor public roads. Day in and day out, this network compiles a permanent, searchable database of law-abiding citizens going about their daily routines—capturing everyone without an explicit warrant or probable cause.
Reversing the foundational American principle of being innocent until proven guilty, this continuous dragnet creates massive cybersecurity vulnerabilities, risks personal data abuse, and functions as an ongoing encroachment on our constitutional rights under the guise of public safety.
We must ask our local government a fundamental question: Where does the line get drawn? When will enough surveillance be too much surveillance? If logging our physical locations and tracking our daily commutes isn’t a violation of our Fourth Amendment rights today, then when is it?
Our Demands:
We, the residents and taxpayers of St. Johns County, call upon Sheriff Robert Hardwick and the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners to protect our shared freedom and privacy by taking the following actions:
Decommission and remove all Flock Safety ALPR systems and facial recognition integrations currently operating on public property within county lines.
Enact a strict county ordinance requiring mandatory public notices, open hearings, and explicit County Commission approval before any future mass surveillance technology can be tested, bought, or deployed using public funds or state grants.
“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” — Benjamin Franklin
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Petition created on July 31, 2026