At least 100 license plate readers are installed across St. Johns County, and none of them belong to the Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff Rob Hardwick disclosed the figure at a county budget meeting Tuesday, telling commissioners the cameras are owned by neighborhoods and homeowners associations. The Sheriff's Office will not monitor them.

"We have an additional 100 license plate readers in St. Johns County. They don't belong to us. They belong to your neighborhoods," Hardwick said, according to Action News Jax. "It's important that you address the HOA's as well because we will not be monitoring those."

The county's final public hearing on the fiscal 2027 budget took place at the same meeting, though it hasn't been publicly reported whether commissioners approved the $500,000 the sheriff requested for possible ALPR system upkeep.

State ordered removal from highway rights-of-way

The disclosure came as the Sheriff's Office prepares to remove its own Flock-brand cameras from state highway rights-of-way by the end of September. The Florida Department of Transportation ordered the removal in a memo issued Aug. 31, revoking all automated license plate reader (ALPR) permits on state roads. FDOT cited "the recent exponential increase in deployments along our roadways, coupled with concerning reports of misuse, data privacy concerns, and surveillance schemes."

Gov. Ron DeSantis framed the order at a Jacksonville news conference that same day, saying Florida should not become "a digital AI surveillance state where everything we're doing is being tracked at all times."

Private cameras fall outside sheriff's authority

The private cameras are a different matter. Chief Kevin Cronin of the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office told commissioners that any community member or HOA can buy a camera from any vendor and install it wherever they choose. The HOAs decide who gets access to the data.

Some residents call the private network unsettling

That distinction unsettled some residents. St. Johns County resident Jacob Lutz told Action News Jax the private systems alarmed him. "I think it's pretty scary," Lutz said. "I mean that power in the hands of anyone really can be misused."

The private cameras are spread across a county where HOA-governed communities are common. No regulatory framework has been announced for privately owned ALPRs in Florida.

Sheriff's office has used the technology since 2017

The Sheriff's Office has used license plate reader technology since 2017. In a text message to commissioners, Hardwick said total ALPR spending in fiscal 2026 reached $908,000. Of that, $481,000 came from the Sheriff's Office budget, with grants covering the rest, WOKV reported.

Hardwick also asked commissioners at an earlier budget session to approve $500,000 in the fiscal 2027 budget for possible ALPR system upkeep. He said the money could be redirected to other programs if the ALPR system is shut down entirely, according to a Yahoo News report on the budget discussions.

Commissioners divided on camera removal

At a commission meeting in early September, Commissioner Clay Murphy called the state-ordered camera removal "a blow to public safety." Commissioner Ann Taylor said it appeared Hardwick had committed to following the FDOT directive.

Flock cameras on state highway rights-of-way are set to come down by the end of September. No timeline exists for addressing the privately owned systems that remain.