FORT PIERCE, Fla. — Like many Florida municipalities, officials in St. Lucie County recently decided to get rid of all their automated license-plate readers made by Flock, the company whose cameras have drawn scrutiny over police misuse and data privacy concerns.
County officials thought they had 52 of the cameras — which law enforcement agencies use to record passing vehicles’ license plates as well as the time and location of each sighting — scattered across the county’s main roads on Florida’s east coast. But as they prepared to remove them, they discovered 14 more that they hadn’t known about and that the county hadn’t permitted.
The discovery presented a mystery about the controversial surveillance technology: Who installed these devices, and who had access to the data they collected?
Todd Richter, the longtime manager of a fishing supply shop across the street from one of the cameras in Fort Pierce, said he wasn’t necessarily opposed to license-plate readers. But not knowing who had put the cameras there troubled the 70-year-old.
“I’m not happy about it unless I know who it is,” Richter said, “and I don’t.”
After the county shared a list of the unpermitted cameras with local law enforcement agencies, officials at the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office identified three of the devices as theirs, though they haven’t explained why they lacked permitting. The county’s other two law enforcement agencies have said none of the cameras are theirs.
That leaves 11 cameras no one has publicly claimed. It remains unclear whether those cameras are actively collecting data or who can access it.
County spokesperson Erick Gill said staff have posted notices at cameras they found, giving those responsible 30 days to remove them. The deadline is Oct. 16 to Oct. 20, depending on when the removal notices were put up.
Gill said the county had not yet reached out to Flock about the cameras’ owners, saying it plans to wait until the notices expire. In the meantime, he said county staff plan to start placing plastic bags over the cameras.
Law enforcement agencies and private companies can purchase Flock cameras, but the company says it typically handles permitting and installation.
In response to questions about who operates the unclaimed cameras in St. Lucie County, Flock spokesperson Paris Lewbel said the company applies for permits “where required, but permitting requirements vary by jurisdiction and are not necessary in every location.”
“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,” Lewbel wrote in an email to The Washington Post.
It’s unclear whether the county, which requires permitting through its Planning and Development department, has heard from Flock. A county spokesperson did not respond to a follow-up question about the company’s statement.
Meanwhile, some residents in St. Lucie County have been dismayed to learn an unknown entity might have been watching them.
One of the unpermitted cameras had been located on 25th Street in Fort Pierce, at the corner of a quiet residential street. Last week, when The Post visited the location, the camera was gone. A removal notice in clear plastic was wrapped around the pole. It was unclear who had removed the camera or when.
Ty Grant, 28, who lives a few hundred feet away, recalled seeing the camera and always assumed it belonged to local law enforcement. Grant appeared unsettled to learn that county officials did not know who installed it.
“That makes me feel very unsafe,” Grant said.
Founded in 2017, Atlanta-based Flock has rapidly expanded its surveillance network across the country, with more than 120,000 automated license-plate readers operating in every state except Alaska. Flock markets its cameras as a tool for locating stolen cars, missing people and criminal suspects. The company and law enforcement agencies say the technology makes communities safer.
But the past year has brought a growing backlash driven by privacy concerns and reports of police misusing the systems. A recent Post investigation found that at least 50 law enforcement officials across the country have been accused of misusing Flock cameras to track people in their personal lives.
Those concerns have intensified in Florida, where a handful of police officers have been arrested in recent months for misusing the Flock technology. In Fort Pierce, former police officer Josepher Crutchfield was recently jailed after officials discovered that he had accessed the Flock database 382 times to track his ex-girlfriend while off-duty.
In late August, under a directive from Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) issued an order revoking existing permits for automated license-plate recognition systems, including Flock cameras, located within the right-of-way of roads on the state highway system — citing “concerning reports of misuse” and “data privacy concerns.” It gave municipalities until Sept. 30 to remove all of the cameras from state highway rights-of-way.
Soon after, law enforcement agencies across Florida announced they would suspend or end their Flock programs entirely. In St. Lucie County, commissioners separately voted to remove their cameras from county roads as well.
St. Lucie County isn’t the first place where Flock cameras have turned up without local officials’ authorization.
In December, Flock reportedly installed two cameras in Cambridge, Massachusetts, without the city’s knowledge after it had deactivated and removed its system. More recently, in September in Millcreek, Utah, a Flock camera was discovered on city property, but neither the city nor police knew who had installed it.
Also in September, about an hour up the coast from St. Lucie County, the city of Palm Bay suspended its Flock system after a review found that the cameras may not have been properly permitted or installed. Officials later said Flock had not requested the required final inspections after installation; Flock then requested them, and city staff approved the permits.
The incidents follow earlier scrutiny of Flock’s installation practices.
A 2024 Forbes investigation found that the company had installed cameras in several states without obtaining required permits, including in Florida. In February 2023, Flock installed cameras on the John’s Pass Bridge near St. Petersburg on behalf of the Treasure Island Police Department without required FDOT approval. FDOT requested their removal, and a Flock employee removed them that November.
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