Brandon Fletcher
In a surprising turn of events, officials in St. Lucie County, Florida, decided to discontinue the use of Flock cameras and began their removal. During this process, they stumbled upon several devices that were not registered with any local authorities. The Washington Post reports that county officials had initially believed there were 52 cameras in use, but they unexpectedly identified 14 additional cameras that were neither accounted for nor permitted.
Among the unpermitted cameras, three were later claimed by the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office. the department did not provide any explanation to The Post regarding the lack of documentation for these devices. there remain 11 Flock cameras in the area whose owners are unknown, raising concerns among local residents. Many expressed feelings of unease and dissatisfaction about the discovery, highlighting the impact of unmonitored surveillance.
We have reached out to Flock for a statement and will provide updates if they respond.
Flock’s surveillance technology has faced significant criticism regarding its security vulnerabilities and potential for infringing on privacy rights. Recently, Florida’s Department of Transportation implemented a ban on the installation of Flock license plate readers on state roadways by law enforcement agencies. Despite some municipalities and state entities reversing their stance on using Flock’s technology, these cameras remain widespread, with reports indicating over 100,000 units operational across the United States.
A county official informed The Post that notices were placed on the unclaimed cameras, instructing the owners to remove them. In the meantime, the cameras will be covered with plastic bags to halt any further data collection. One reporter from the newspaper visited a location where an unpermitted camera had been found and noted that it had been removed, yet there was no indication of who was responsible for its dismantling.
Daniel Mercer
