The Clay County Sheriff's Office is pulling every license plate reader from county roadways after the Florida Department of Transportation revoked all permits for the cameras statewide.

Sheriff Michelle Cook said Monday, Aug. 31, that the removal would not weaken the agency's crime-fighting ability. The CCSO has used the automated readers since 2018.

In the past year alone, the technology helped deputies locate a missing 76-year-old South Carolina woman in Middleburg and identify a homicide suspect in a deadly stabbing. It also helped recover a 10-year-old child taken in a custody interference case near the Florida-Alabama state line, leading to three arrests, Action News Jax reported.

Cook has not said what tools will replace the cameras.

"This decision does not hinder, nor sway, our efforts to prevent and fight crime, solve cases, hold offenders accountable and maintain public trust," Cook said in a statement, according to Action News Jax.

The CCSO also said it looks forward to "continuing conversations regarding technology in law enforcement," Jax Today reported.

FDOT memo gives agencies 30 days to remove cameras from state roads

FDOT's Engineering and Operations Memorandum No. 26-01, signed Aug. 31 by Chief Operating Officer and Assistant Secretary Will Watts, revokes every permit previously issued to local law enforcement for automated license plate readers on state highway rights-of-way. Agencies have 30 days to remove the devices. FDOT said it will take down any cameras still standing after the deadline of Wednesday, Sept. 30.

The memo cited rapid growth in camera deployments, reports of misuse, data privacy concerns and what it called surveillance schemes. It also halted all future permit approvals.

The directive covers only state roads. Cameras on county or city roads, private property and mobile readers used by agencies such as the Florida Highway Patrol are not affected, according to Florida Voice News. It is unclear whether the CCSO's cameras sat exclusively on state roads or whether the agency is voluntarily removing devices beyond what the memo requires.

DeSantis had called camera spread 'out of control' days before the memo

The memo landed three days after Gov. Ron DeSantis called the spread of the cameras "out of control" at an event Wednesday, Aug. 26, at Florida International University.

"Go after criminals — great, let's all do that," DeSantis said. "But surveilling just regular Floridians' movements, and how that data's used, that's a bird of a different feather."

DeSantis estimated that the large majority of Florida's roughly 7,500 license plate readers sit on local rather than state roads. He has suggested the Legislature consider tighter rules, possibly modeled on New Hampshire's restrictions on fixed roadside readers.

Jacksonville, Nassau and Putnam counties also drop their camera programs

Clay County is not alone. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, Nassau County and Putnam County announced they would discontinue their programs on the same day, News4Jax reported. Putnam County Sheriff Gator DeLoach ordered all 18 of his county's cameras disconnected immediately, the Tampa Free Press reported.