ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. (WPEC) – More than a dozen Flock cameras were installed without permits in one Florida county, and nobody is claiming them.
St. Lucie County commissioners recently voted to remove Flock and other automated license plate readers from county roads and stop granting permits for the cameras.
The county said of the 66 known cameras, 14 do not have the permits to be installed there.
St. Lucie County Commissioner James Clasby said that’s concerning.
“Not knowing who they belong to, I think, is another issue. Perhaps that goes about the entirety of Flock camera reform,” Clasby said.
Commissioners said they don’t know who put up the unpermitted cameras, but they do have an idea for how to disable them.
“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,” St. Lucie County’s interim administrator Mayte Santamaria said.
This is just the latest in the ongoing Flock camera dilemma.
An Indian River County deputy was recently put on paid leave after being accused of using Flock cameras for unauthorized reasons.
Last week, a Fort Pierce police officer was fired for using Flock cameras to track his ex-girlfriend’s car hundreds of times.
All over America, communities are trying to decide whether the benefits to investigators outweigh the risk to citizens.
St. Lucie County has decided it does not.
“There’s the potential for non-law enforcement to have cameras out there, and I’m not OK with that,” Clasby added.
St. Lucie County said all 52 previously authorized devices received revocation notices as of Monday. That gives the owners 30 days to remove them.
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