50 cameras now
SPPD · press
St. Petersburg Police started a 25-camera Flock pilot in 2022 and expanded to 50 in 2024 (St Pete Catalyst reporting; Bay News 9 on the 50 now installed under the Welch administration).
St. Petersburg · Pinellas County
A referral request is on the August 27 agenda.
Sourced 23 Aug 2026. DeFlock Tampa is a Hillsborough civic desk covering a neighboring city’s posted item. It is not DeFlock St. Pete. Civic only.
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27 Aug 2026 — Floyd Flock referral
Thu 27 Aug 2026 · 1:30 PM · Council Chambers
Council Chambers, City Hall
175 5th St N, St. Petersburg, FL
- What is on the agenda
- Packet item G. New Business, 1 (Vice-Chair Floyd): “Respectfully requesting a referral to the Public Services and Infrastructure Committee, or other relevant committee, for a discussion on the City's contract with Flock Safety and the use of Flock cameras in the City.” Printed start 1:30 PM. Not on the Adds/Deletes sheet. Press: Bay News 9, 19 Aug 2026; St Pete Catalyst.
- Place — verified
- Council Chambers, City Hall, 175 5th St N, from the city’s own Council page and from city news on the same Aug 27 date.
- Same day, not Flock
- A 5:01 PM public hearing the same day is utility rates and fees, not Flock (stpete.org news, 31 Jul 2026). Do not conflate that hearing with the Floyd referral.
- Floyd (published)
- District 8, 2026 Vice-Chair. richie.floyd@stpete.org — from the city’s District 8 page. Do not invent other members’ inboxes here.
- How to speak
- Open Forum and non-hearing items: 3 minutes; name and address; residents, property owners, business owners, or their employees; sign up with the Clerk. Hearings in person. Zoom ID 970 3499 0474 printed. Chair may cut to email if decorum fails.
Official packet: 27 Aug 2026 Agenda Packet w/ AddsDeletes. Agenda index: Council Agendas.
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How St. Pete got to 50 cameras
4 Jan 2024 · Resolution 2024-02
Consent · 5–0 · Floyd absent
Florida Politics reports a 4 Jan 2024 consent-agenda vote on Resolution 2024-02: Flock Group Inc., $730,250, five years. Passed 5–0; the article says Floyd was absent that day (and names two other absences). Attribute those facts to that article. This page does not treat the column’s political framing as a primary.
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Local claims vs. the product
Mayor-race coverage, Bay News 9, 19 Aug 2026: Charlie Crist supports a moratorium if elected; Ken Welch defends the cameras and cites privacy protections. Police have said the cameras “only capture plates.” That is a local claim.
Flock’s own product language is broader: a hit is plate image + vehicle image + make/color/time/location, plus vendor “vehicle fingerprint” marks. WIRED, 19 Aug 2026 described OS Investigate searching people and vehicles by movement with no plate, name, or crime required. Flock says that tool is in testing and separate from the LPR product. Whether SPPD is in the test group is unknown. Product facts are not proof of a local setting — and a local slogan is not a product audit.
SPPD Chief Holloway statement · 6 Aug 2026
Department claims
The department’s posted statement says Flock retains video only 30 days; access is only for a legitimate law-enforcement purpose; users must document a reason. Treat those as department claims. Thirty days matches Flock’s existing-customer window, not the company’s new 7-day default (13 Aug 2026). Configured days for St. Pete are still a records question.
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DeFlock St. Pete
DeFlock St. Pete is a real Pinellas group, separate from DeFlock Tampa. Published contact only: DeFlockStPete@proton.me. Named in press: organizer Zach Schira. This site does not invent other members and does not invite anyone to Aaron’s Facebook group.
A packed meeting at the President Barack Obama Main Library (about 120-person capacity) was held Saturday 15 Aug 2026 (Catalyst; contemporaneous TV). Press have also covered camera vandalism. This site does not advise interfering with cameras.