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Crime & Public Safety

VSO Says Osteen License-Plate Reader Was Smashed After It Stopped Reporting

By 3 min read

OSTEEN, Fla. — A license-plate reader in Osteen was found destroyed after it stopped reporting data, according to a Volusia Sheriff’s Office District IV activity report.

Damaged license-plate reader enclosure with exposed wiring in Osteen.

The agency logged the vandalism as case 260015752. The report says the reader had produced no reads since 9:49 p.m. July 21. Deputies were asked to check the device and arrived at the Osteen location at approximately 10:11 a.m. July 22.

Deputies found the camera destroyed, with pieces on the ground, the report says. Based on the damage, deputies wrote that the device appeared to have been struck with some kind of blunt object.

Watch the CFL Report video

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CFL Report subsequently published video of the damaged installation. The footage documents the condition of the equipment after it was found; it does not establish who damaged the reader or why. Although the original caption calls it a Flock camera, the Sheriff’s Office public summary does not identify the manufacturer.

The public activity summary does not identify a suspect, list an arrest, give a precise street location, state the replacement cost or identify a motive.

Update: VSO later shuts down its plate readers

On Aug. 31, the Volusia Sheriff’s Office announced that it was shutting down its license-plate readers effective immediately. Sheriff Mike Chitwood said the technology would no longer be used by the agency unless Florida lawmakers provide clearer guidance and a legal framework. His statement acknowledged concerns about privacy, technology and data sharing while also describing the readers as a tool VSO had used in violent-crime, missing-person and stolen-property cases.

The same day, the Florida Department of Transportation listed Engineering and Operations Memorandum 26-01, “Revocation of General Use Permits for Automated License Plate Readers,” as effective Aug. 31. Florida law gives FDOT discretion over installation of these systems within state-highway rights-of-way and requires removal within 30 days after the department notifies the requesting law-enforcement agency.

Florida law defines an automated license-plate-recognition system as one or more fixed or mobile high-speed cameras combined with algorithms that turn plate images into computer-readable data. The law makes images and data containing personal identifying information confidential, limits disclosure and requires a state retention schedule with a maximum retention period.

Neither VSO’s Aug. 31 announcement nor the FDOT notice addresses vandalism case 260015752, identifies who damaged the Osteen reader or says whether that particular device had been repaired or replaced before the shutdown. The equipment-damage investigation and the later policy decision are separate developments. Read CFL Report’s full report on the countywide policy change.

Anyone with information can contact the Volusia Sheriff’s Office. The agency lists 407-323-0151 as its non-emergency dispatch number for Osteen; emergencies should be reported to 911.

Sources: Volusia Sheriff’s Office District IV activity reports, case 260015752, VSO’s Aug. 31 statement discontinuing its readers, the FDOT engineering-memoranda index, Florida Statutes sections 316.0777 and 316.0778, and the original CFL Report video.