Will Tampa school zone speed cameras share data with ICE? City says no
Tampa Bay Times | By: Nina Moske | July 16, 2026
The Tampa City Council on Thursday voted to expand the use of speed cameras in school zones across the city.
Speed cameras are coming to school zones across Tampa, stirring questions about surveillance.
Months after approving a contract with the speed camera company RedSpeed Florida, Tampa City Council members on Thursday voted unanimously to expand the use of cameras in school zones citywide. The vote added six schools to the list of a dozen already slated to receive the cameras.
For some residents and council members, the speed camera contract raised concerns about mass surveillance and fears that the information collected could be used to aid federal immigration enforcement efforts.
RedSpeed has ties to Flock Safety, a tech company that deploys automated license plate readers for use by law enforcement, according to a proposal from the company. While Flock says it does not contract directly with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, local agencies can share Flock-collected data with federal immigration agencies.
Tampa Police Deputy Chief Patrick Messmer told council members that the camera company will not share data with Flock, nor use Flock technology. Doing so would violate state and local laws, he said.
Messmer cited a signed affidavit from RedSpeed CEO Robert Liberman stating that the cameras “have no hardware or software associated in any way with Flock.”
“There is going to be no data sharing,” Messmer said. “There is going to be no retention of the data that was captured by the cameras unless there is a violation.”
Approved in a 6-1 vote in February, the city’s piggyback agreement with Hillsborough County means Tampa will work with RedSpeed Florida to reduce speeding in school zones. The program comes at no cost to the city. For every $100 civil penalty, Tampa will get $39.
Messmer said the city is working to obtain permits for the cameras, which are not yet installed.
A previous city ordinance listed 12 school areas, concentrated in East and West Tampa, set to receive the cameras. After RedSpeed conducted a school zone speed study in April, the city expanded that list to 18, spanning all corners of Tampa.
“I’m really glad this is not just going to be policing majority-minority communities,” council member Lynn Hurtak said.
The confusion about Flock stemmed from a 2024 RedSpeed proposal for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, in which the company noted its relationship to Flock.
“We have collaborated closely with Flock to optimize interoperability, and our intuitive software is already in use across the state,” read the proposal, adding that “only RedSpeed can offer integration with Flock.” Flock is “included in the RedSpeed price,” the proposal said.
In a memo in February, Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw said the proposal was designed for Georgia law, not Florida. The RedSpeed cameras won’t incorporate automated license plate readers, he said.
Still, council members wanted more details.
Council member Bill Carlson asked whether the camera footage, collected during school hours, will be deleted or kept by the police department. Messmer said it will be deleted after 30 days, unless someone breaks the law.
“People just in general don’t like having government surveil them,” Carlson said.
Resident Brock Mangus agreed. “Many of us Tampa residents want to live in a neighborhood with our family and neighbors, and not with Big Brother,” he said.
Other council members said they heard strong community support for the cameras ahead of Thursday’s vote.
“If you’re going to a school zone during pickup and drop-off, and you’re going an excess of 10 miles per hour over the speed limit,” council member Luis Viera said, “you’ve got it coming.”
