Florida county discovers mysterious Flock cameras with no obvious owner
Officials found 14 extra license-plate readers, and 11 still have no publicly identified owner as the county removes cameras over privacy concerns.
- St. Lucie County officials discovered 14 unauthorized Flock Safety license-plate readers beyond 52 previously approved devices, prompting questions about who installed them and whether they collected motorists' data.
- A September arrest of former Fort Pierce police officer Josepher Crutchfield, who allegedly accessed Flock's database 382 times to track his ex-girlfriend's vehicle while off duty, intensified concerns about surveillance oversight and data access.
- St. Lucie County requires permits through its Planning and Development department, yet a 2024 Forbes investigation found Flock cameras installed without permits in multiple states including Florida; similar incidents occurred in Massachusetts and Utah.
- The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office claimed three of the mystery cameras, leaving 11 without a publicly identified owner; county spokesperson Erick Gill confirmed 30-day removal notices were posted with deadlines between October 16 and 20.
- Flock spokesperson Paris Lewbel told The Post the company had contacted St. Lucie County and is willing to assist, though resident Ty Grant, living near a camera on 25th Street, said learning officials did not know who installed it made him feel "very unsafe.
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Fast Company
BizToc11 mysterious cameras were watching Florida drivers. Officials don’t know who owns them
Florida’s St. Lucie County recently discovered that its residents were being surveilled by mysterious cameras installed in secret and unconnected to any state or local agency. The county found the cameras after it voted to uninstall its own fleet of Flock automated license plate readers, which are used by more than 5,000 law enforcement agencies to track drivers’ movements on roads around the country. When the county took an inventory of the Flo…
Florida officials find 13 license plate reader cameras installed without permits
Of the 13 cameras found, three belong to the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, but officials are still investigating who installed the other ten and who has access to the information they collect.
Florida County Stumbles on Mystery Flock Cameras as Privacy Backlash Grows
St. Lucie County, Florida, expected 52 Flock cameras but discovered 14 unpermitted units during removal. Eleven remain unclaimed by any agency, sparking alarm over unknown data access and ownership. Officials issued removal notices while residents expressed unease about unseen surveillance. The case highlights growing national scrutiny of the technology amid reported misuse.
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