WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA
In June 2026, West Palm Beach approved an agreement to replace its aging 83-unit license plate reader network with Motorola L6D units. According to the City, those units function as both full-time plate readers and CCTV cameras.
City records also identify an Axon Fusus investigative platform and a CRA grant program for police-connected cameras on eligible commercial and non-residential properties. Which Fusus features WPBPD has enabled is still being verified.
We're finding out how far this network reaches, what it records, who can search it, and what rules protect us.
THE DOWNFALL OF PRIVACY
This is no longer only a license plate scanning question. Added CCTV capability, a program for police-connected cameras on private property, vendor-advertised AI tools, and a state schedule that can permit multi-year retention all deserve public attention. The exact local rules and system settings still matter. Without clear limits or public scrutiny, our privacy keeps losing ground.
In June 2026, West Palm Beach approved replacing its aging 83-unit license plate reader network with Motorola L6D units. According to the City, L6D units function as both full-time license plate readers and CCTV cameras. This adds CCTV capability to the replacement network. We have not yet verified that all 83 replacements are installed or operational.
West Palm Beach budget materials identify an Axon Fusus camera-integration and investigative platform. Axon's own documentation describes AI-assisted searches involving people, vehicles, and objects, plus automated detection and alert features. Which of those capabilities WPBPD has licensed, enabled, or configured is still being verified.
The West Palm Beach CRA says it aims to finance at least 40 CCTV
camera installations on eligible commercial and non-residential
properties in designated CRA areas. Eligible properties may receive
up to four cameras.
Program rules require the systems to be compatible with and
continuously connected to WPBPD's Real-Time Crime Center, and to
give WPBPD access to recorded footage. The funded equipment remains
CRA property for two years after installation. So the surveillance
network doesn't stop at government property. The program deliberately
extends police-accessible coverage onto privately used property too.
Florida's official records schedule allows ALPR records to be
retained until their administrative value is lost, but no longer
than three anniversary years unless another applicable records
series controls. That is a state ceiling. It is not proof that WPBPD
routinely keeps scans for three years.
We're still seeking WPBPD's actual retention policy and system
settings. We'll publish what the records establish when they arrive.
LOCAL SURVEILLANCE
Deflock WPB is currently documenting the ALPR systems operating in West Palm Beach and the surrounding area: who runs them, what rules govern them, and where the data can go.
We're documenting WPB's ALPR network, equipment, contracts, retention rules, and access policies.
RECORDS PENDINGVillage records from 2024 identify a 20-camera Vigilant LPR network and state that PBSO selected Vigilant. A separate equipment exhibit received on September 8, 2026 through our public-records request independently lists 20 Motorola Vigilant L5F cameras across six pole-location entries on four roadways.
The equipment exhibit itself is undated. It corroborates a 2024-era inventory, not a current 2026 count. Current operational status, retention, sharing, and Village/PBSO governance remain under review.
Village public records: June 6, 2024 pre-bid meeting minutes; equipment inventory received September 8, 2026.
We're investigating ALPR vendors, retention, data sharing, outside access, and oversight.
RECORDS PENDINGTHE QUESTION IS:
What gets recorded?
How long is it kept?
Who can search it?
Who else gets access?
Who checks for misuse?
Who approved it?
DO SOMETHING
Learn what's being deployed in your community. Help demand transparency and limits on mass surveillance.
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