Staff Report

After carefully reviewing our agency’s experience with the Flock Safety Automated License Plate Reader system, I have decided that the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office will terminate its use of and participation in the program.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Wakulla Sun had planned a package of articles about the ongoing controversy over Flock cameras, including the story at right on Austin Fairchild. We contacted the sheriff’s office for comment. Later, Gov. DeSantis announced he was ordering the removal of the cameras from state highways. Shortly after, Sheriff Jared Miller made the decision to end the use of the cameras and issued the following lengthy statement explaining his position:

The cameras were funded through a U.S. Department of Justice grant as part of a regional task-force initiative involving Wakulla and 12 other counties. The contract for the system is held and administered by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, not the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office. The system was made available to our agency at no cost to Wakulla County for a two-year period.
From the beginning, I viewed this grant-funded period as an opportunity to evaluate the technology before considering whether Wakulla County should make any future investment in such a system. This allowed us to assess not only its potential benefits as a public-safety and investigative resource, but also its accuracy, reliability, safeguards, accountability measures, and overall value to our community.
As Sheriff, I have a responsibility to ensure that the resources entrusted to this agency are used wisely. Technology can help our deputies and detectives work more efficiently and extend the reach of the limited resources available to us as a fiscally constrained and rapidly growing county. However, the potential benefits of a technology are not enough by themselves. We must be confident that any tool we use is reliable, effective, responsibly managed, and capable of providing genuine value to the citizens we serve.
During the evaluation period, the technology made a meaningful contribution to our public-safety efforts. It assisted our deputies and detectives in identifying and apprehending suspects, recovering stolen vehicles and property, and advancing or resolving dozens of criminal investigations. In many instances, the system served as a force multiplier by providing timely investigative information and helping our personnel make more effective use of limited resources. Those accomplishments are an important part of our evaluation and should not be overlooked.
At the same time, our operational experience identified performance and implementation concerns that must be weighed alongside those successes. After considering the system’s capabilities, limitations, and overall role in our operations, I determined that continued participation in the current program is not the appropriate course for the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office.
Our evaluation also included a review of the policies and safeguards surrounding the system, including data access, retention, information sharing, auditing, user accountability, and oversight. Policies and safeguards governing the technology are in place; however, I must be confident that the overall framework—including the technology, applicable policies, operational procedures, and oversight mechanisms—fully aligns with the standards, needs, and expectations of this agency and the community we serve.
Technology can be an extremely useful resource, but it should never replace sound police work, professional judgment, or accountability. We have a responsibility to evaluate how a system performs under real-world conditions—not simply how it is expected to perform on paper. When our experience with a technology raises concerns, we must be willing to examine those concerns and determine what they mean for its continued use.
Technology also frequently develops faster than the policies, procedures, and oversight frameworks intended to govern it. New capabilities may benefit public safety, but innovation must be accompanied by appropriate safeguards, meaningful accountability, and responsible oversight. A technology should not be used simply because it is available. It should be used only when we are satisfied that it meets the standards of our agency and can be implemented responsibly.
In reaching this decision, I reviewed our agency’s experience with the system, consulted with members of my team, examined the information gathered during the evaluation period, and listened to questions and feedback from Wakulla County residents.
I have always believed that serving as Sheriff means being willing to listen. Our citizens have raised thoughtful questions about this technology, and I take those concerns seriously. Listening does not mean making decisions based on the loudest voice in the room. It means considering community feedback alongside the facts, our operational experience, and our responsibility to keep people safe.
Maintaining the public’s trust is more important than the use of any single technology. Our responsibility is not to defend a system simply because we agreed to evaluate it. Our responsibility is to examine the facts, learn from our experience, identify concerns when they arise, and determine whether the results justify continued use.
This decision applies specifically to WCSO’s use of and participation in the current Flock ALPR program. Because the contract is held by FDLE, the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office is not terminating or modifying the contract itself. Rather, WCSO is ending its participation in and use of the system.
Our deputies and detectives will continue using established investigative resources and proven law enforcement methods to identify suspects, locate wanted and missing persons, recover stolen property, investigate criminal activity, and protect our community.
I will continue looking for responsible ways to provide our personnel with the resources they need to perform an increasingly difficult job. Being a responsible steward of public resources means being willing to explore new ideas that may help us operate more effectively. It also means being willing to discontinue the use of a tool when our experience gives us reason to do so. That is part of responsible leadership.
The citizens of Wakulla County expect us to protect them, listen to them, preserve their trust, and use public resources wisely. Those are not competing priorities. They are all part of the commitment I made to the people of Wakulla County, and they will continue to guide every decision I make as Sheriff.

A 21-year-old Crawfordville man was killed in a motorcyle crash last week on Spring Creek Highway, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

The accident occured on Aug. 24 around 8:45 p.m.
The man was traveling north on Spring Creek Highway when he collided with the rear of an SUV also traveling north, and the motorcyclist was then struck by a southbound SUV.
The drivers of the SUVs did not suffer any injuries.
The motorcyclist was pronounced deceased on scene, according to FHP.

The Wakulla News has closed.
The newspaper, which had been the oldest continuously operated business in Wakulla County, reportedly shut down two weeks ago.
News Editor Steve Steiner sent out emails to contributors announcing the closure.
The Wakulla Sun, the staff of which are all former employees at the News, began four years ago with a goal of being a locally owned, locally controlled source of news.

Musicians are invited to participate in the 5th annual Crawfordville Seventh Day Adventist Church gospel sing on Sept. 26.
The church welcomes new vocal, instrumental or group participants. The church requests each special music presenter lead a song from a list to be provided.

Contact the church at gospelsing22@yahoo.com or call 850-888-3301. Provide your name or group name, church name, and title of your special music song.
The Crawfordville SDA Church is located at 107 Shadeville Road.

Landon Davis, well known locally for his work as an umpire fro 34 years in youth and college baseball, from Florida to Texas, was killed in a head-on crash on Aug. 11.

A service will be held on Saturday, Aug. 22, at 10 a.m. at Tallahassee State College athletic field in Tallahassee.
A burial will be held at Lake Ellen Baptist Church in Crawfordville the same day at noon.
Davis umpired for more than 15 years at Florida State, Tallahassee Community College and Florida A&M.
Problems with nerve damage in recent years had led to him cutting back on his umpire work.
He worked in chemical sales with Tribe Chemical.

A Sopchoppy man was killed in single-vehicle crash on Tuesday, Aug. 4, just before 11 p.m., according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

According to FHP, the truck was traveling southbound on U.S. Highway 319 and was negotiating a left curve near Dickson Street and failed to make the curve and traveled onto the shoulder of the roadway and overcorrected – the truck went across both of the lanes of 319 and onto the eastern shoulder and began overturning.
The driver, a 34-year-old man, sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced deceased on scene. He was reported as not wearing a seatbelt.
FHP was assisted on scene by Wakulla Fire Rescue and the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office.

The Wakulla Sun has invited all 12 candidates for Congressional District 2 to a gathering on Tuesday, Aug. 4, at the public library beginning at 6 p.m.
There are eight Republicans and four Democrats in the party primary to be held Aug. 18. The party winners will face off in the November general election.
The Democrat candidates are Yen Bailey, Brice Barnes, Amanda Marie Green and Nic Zateslo.
Republican candidates are Keith Gross, Lee Jones, Nick Lewis, Luke Murphy, Jim Norton, Evan Power, Austin Rogers, and Audie Rowell.
The Sun has received commitments from most of the candidates to attend.
The Sun will livestream the forum on Facebook and archive the video on our YouTube page.

We received word late on Monday that decorated World War II veteran Joe Williams, who was 106, passed away on Saturday, July 25. Williams is seen here in a photo from May 2024 with David Pienta when he went on an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. Robert Manning recalled as young person calling Williams ‘the Bible Extoller’ for his memory of verses.

A three-car crash on U.S. Highway 319 near Songbird Avenue resulted in only minor injuries, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

On Thursday, July 9, around 6 a.m., a Jeep Compass driven by a 29-year-old Tallahassee woman crossed into the northbound lane and hit a Mitsubishi Eclipse, driven by a 49-year-old Crawfordville woman. The Jeep then hit a Toyota Camry driven by a 31-year-old Crawfordville man, according to FHP.
The Mitsubishi spun 180 degrees in the roadway and the Toyota ended up in a ditch. The Jeep stopped on the grass shoulder facing south.