St. Lucie County Finds 14 Unpermitted Flock Cameras, 11 With Unidentified Owners
St. Lucie County, Florida, found 14 unpermitted Flock license plate readers while removing the cameras; the sheriff's office claimed three, leaving 11 with unknown owners.
The Washington Post reported that county leaders believed they had 52 Flock cameras in place. As the equipment was being removed, they found 14 additional units that were neither accounted for nor permitted through any local agency. Three of the cameras without permits were later claimed by the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office. According to the account published by Engadget, the department did not tell the newspaper why that equipment lacked the usual paperwork.
That left 11 Flock cameras installed in the area whose owners none of the county officials knew about. Several residents told The Washington Post they felt unsafe or unhappy after learning of the discovery. Engadget said it had reached out to Flock for comment.
A county official told the newspaper that notices had been placed at the unclaimed cameras ordering whoever owns them to remove the equipment. In the meantime, the official said, the cameras would be covered with plastic bags to prevent any further data collection. One Washington Post employee went to the location of an unpermitted camera and found it had been taken down, with no sign of who had removed it.
The discovery follows mounting scrutiny of Flock's cameras over security risks and the potential for privacy abuses. Last month, the Florida Department of Transportation barred law enforcement agencies from placing Flock license plate readers on state roads. Some city and state governments have reversed course on using the company's equipment, but the cameras remain common, with more than 100,000 reported in use across the United States.
Editor's Summary
St. Lucie County, Florida, ended its use of Flock license plate readers and then found 14 cameras that had never been permitted, three of which the sheriff's office later claimed, leaving 11 devices with unknown owners. County officials said the unclaimed cameras were ordered removed and would be bagged to halt data collection, as Flock faces continued scrutiny and a Florida ban on its readers along state roads.