St. Lucie County, Florida, went out to take down 52 license plate cameras it knew about and found 66, and 11 of the extras still have no owner anyone will admit to. The county sheriff’s office has claimed three of the 14 unpermitted devices, leaving 11 unclaimed Flock cameras sitting on public roads along Florida’s Treasure Coast, now wrapped in plastic bags with bright red removal notices attached.
The discovery came out of a removal push that began in late summer, when both the state and the county moved against automated license plate readers. As of October 2, the owners of the remaining cameras have not been publicly identified, and county officials have said they cannot confirm whether the devices are still collecting data or who can see it.
How St. Lucie County Found Cameras It Never Approved
The first public account came from local station CBS12 on September 16. County staff told commissioners that they had found “at least 14 license plate reader cameras installed on county rights-of-way without a permit,” and that the county did not know who owned them.
The count grew quickly. According to CBS12, a county agenda report signed September 10 listed just three cameras at unpermitted locations. Within days, field checks had pushed the number to at least 14, and staff warned the search was not finished. To find the strays, staff compared crowdsourced data from various sources against the county’s list of known, permitted locations.
The unpermitted devices are in addition to the 52 the county had authorized. CBS12 reported that county permit records showed most of those approved cameras were installed on behalf of law enforcement agencies, and that all 52 had received revocation notices giving their owners 30 days to remove them.
Three Claimed by the Sheriff, 11 Unclaimed Flock Cameras Left
The county shared its inventory with the area’s three law enforcement agencies: the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, the Fort Pierce Police Department and the Port St. Lucie Police Department. As Straight Arrow News reported, citing The Washington Post, the sheriff’s office claimed three of the unpermitted cameras. It has not explained why those three went up without a permit.
No agency claimed the other 11. Because there is no permit on file for them, staff said there is no applicant to call. Instead, the county is putting notices directly on the hardware.
“It’s like a bright red notice that says you have 30 days to remove this. And we will also bag the cameras so they’re not operable,” interim county administrator Mayte Santamaria told CBS12.
County spokesperson Erick Gill said the 30-day deadlines on the unclaimed Flock cameras run from October 16 to October 20, according to Straight Arrow News. TechSpot, citing The Washington Post, reported that one of the cameras has already disappeared.
Flock Safety Says Permits Are Not Always Required
Flock Safety, the Atlanta-based company behind the devices, usually handles permits and installation for its customers. But its cameras are not sold only to police; private companies can buy them too. The company told The Washington Post it applies for permits “where required, but permitting requirements vary by jurisdiction and are not necessary in every location,” as quoted by Straight Arrow News.
Flock spokesperson Paris Lewbel said in an email to the Post: “We have reached out to St. Lucie County and are happy to work with them directly to review the cameras in question and address any discrepancies.”
That answer has not settled the main question. County Commissioner James Clasby told CBS12 the bigger issue is not the hardware but who receives the data.
“There’s the potential for non-law enforcement to have cameras out there, and I’m not okay with that,” Clasby said.
Ty Grant, who lives near one of the unclaimed devices, told the Post he had assumed police put it up. Learning otherwise, he said: “That makes me feel very unsafe.”
A State Order and a 3-2 County Vote
The hunt traces back to two decisions. In late August, the Florida Department of Transportation revoked permits for license plate readers on state highway rights-of-way. A memo reported by WUSF cited “concerning reports of misuse, data privacy concerns, and surveillance schemes” and gave local agencies 30 days to remove the devices.
On September 1, St. Lucie County commissioners went further. They voted 3-2 to stop issuing permits for Flock cameras and other automated license plate readers on county-owned or county-controlled property. Commissioner Clasby made the motion, which Commissioners Lee and Lowry supported; Chair Jamie Fowler and Commissioner Cathy Townsend voted no. The county’s order does not cover readers mounted in police vehicles or cameras on private property.
Nearby Port St. Lucie also voted to remove the 18 Flock cameras along its city streets, Straight Arrow News reported.
Flock Safety Faces Wider Pushback
The St. Lucie case lands as communities across the country reconsider license plate readers. Cancellations have been piling up, as NarwhalTV reported in Flock Safety Offers Buyouts Amid Customer Exodus. Security researchers have also raised alarms about the hardware itself; one stolen unit yielded 1.6 million images.
For now, the practical deadline is local. The 11 bagged devices are still waiting for an owner to claim them. Until an owner comes forward, the question of who installed them, and who may have been searching their data, stays open.
