St. Lucie County, Florida, officials moving to end their use of Flock license-plate readers discovered 14 additional cameras that were not on their records. Three were later claimed by the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office, but the remaining 11 have no identified owner. The county had believed it had 52 cameras in place.
Residents told The Washington Post they felt unsafe and unhappy about the discovery. County Commissioner James Clasby said there is "potential for non-law enforcement to have cameras out there, and I'm not OK with that." The sheriff's office did not explain why the three cameras it claimed lacked permits, and it did not respond to a request about whether it had accessed data from them.
The episode adds to scrutiny of Flock, whose cameras are used widely across the U.S. Florida's Department of Transportation last month banned Flock readers on state roads. The Washington Post has documented at least 50 cases of police misuse of Flock databases, including officers stalking individuals. Flock says it has added safeguards, but experts say they are ineffective.
The county has posted notices giving owners 30 days to remove the unpermitted cameras, and staff plan to cover them with plastic bags to prevent data collection. One camera has already been removed by an unknown party. A Flock spokesperson said the company has reached out to county officials, and noted that permitting requirements "vary by jurisdiction and are not necessary in every location."