Florida cops say they don't know who owns 11 unpermitted Flock cameras

Ars Technica News

Summary

St. Lucie County, Florida officials discovered 11 unpermitted Flock license plate reader cameras with unknown owners, giving them 30 days to be removed amid ongoing privacy concerns from residents about who accesses the footage.

<p>Florida cops are facing questions after a mandate to remove all Flock cameras tracking cars on St. Lucie County roads led local police to uncover more than a dozen suspicious cameras operating without permits.</p> <p>Local residents <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/10/01/florida-county-discovers-mysterious-flock-cameras-with-no-obvious-owner/">told The Washington Post</a> that they were alarmed that no one knows who owns many of the mysterious cameras.</p> <p>Of the 14 cameras found, 11 had no obvious owners, raising concerns about who has access to sensitive data that bad actors could abuse. After the cameras were discovered, St. Lucie County Commissioner James Clasby <a href="https://www.wbrc.com/2026/09/18/14-unpermitted-flock-cameras-found-one-florida-county-nobody-is-claiming-them/">told a local news outlet</a> that there’s “potential for non-law enforcement to have cameras out there, and I’m not OK with that.”</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/10/florida-cops-say-they-dont-know-who-owns-11-unpermitted-flock-cameras/">Read full article</a></p> <p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/10/florida-cops-say-they-dont-know-who-owns-11-unpermitted-flock-cameras/#comments">Comments</a></p>
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# Florida cops say they don't know who owns 11 unpermitted Flock cameras Source: [https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/10/florida-cops-say-they-dont-know-who-owns-11-unpermitted-flock-cameras/](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/10/florida-cops-say-they-dont-know-who-owns-11-unpermitted-flock-cameras/) For St\. Lucie County residents who frequently pass the unpermitted cameras, privacy concerns remain, as the county is giving owners 30 days to remove the cameras, seemingly with no questions asked\. One camera already came down, a Post reporter confirmed, after St\. Lucie County’s interim administrator Mayte Santamaria explained that the county put up “bright red” notices\. Cops remain uncertain if the cameras are actively collecting data, the Post reported\. Until the deadline arrives—which for some cameras could be as late as October 20—county spokesperson Erick Gill told the Post that “staff plan to start placing plastic bags over the cameras\.” That small step could help obscure footage to prevent invasive tracking, but one resident, Ty Grant, told the Post that concerns remain—even about the camera that was promptly removed\. For people potentially recorded by the cameras, it’s imperative that cops try to figure out who owns them, Grant said\. “That makes me feel very unsafe,” Grant said\. Todd Richter, who manages a fishing supply shop located across the street from a different camera, told the Post that he has no issue with Flock’s automated license plate readers, so long as it’s clear who’s accessing them\. “I’m not happy about it unless I know who it is,” Richter said, “and I don’t\.” ## Flock’s web of mystery cameras St\. Lucie County officials appear determined to give the camera owners time to take them down before moving forward with investigations to unmask them\. Gill told the Post that Flock will be contacted if the county’s 30\-day deadline passes and cameras remain up\.

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