11 Mystery Cameras Watched Florida Drivers Unaccounted For

St. Lucie County, Florida, has discovered 11 unpermitted cameras secretly monitoring its roads, with no clear ownership or connection to state or local agencies. The county identified these devices during an inventory following its decision to uninstall its own fleet of Flock automated license plate readers. Flock ALPRs are utilized by over 5,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide to track vehicle movements. During the inventory of Flock units, county officials found 14 cameras that were not permitted and were pointed at public roads. Local law enforcement agencies claimed ownership of three of these unpermitted devices, leaving 11 cameras unaccounted for, according to a report from The Washington Post. In response, the county sent letters mid-month to revoke permissions for the cameras it could identify and posted notices on the unpermitted cameras, mandating their removal within 30 days. Erick Gill, St. Lucie County Communications Director, stated to Fast Company that after the 30-day period expires, staff will proceed with safely removing or covering the cameras to prevent further video recording. Gill further clarified that 13 of the unpermitted cameras were situated on county streets, with one camera located within the city limits of Port St. Lucie. The existence of these unpermitted cameras was initially reported by local news station WPEC. St. Lucie County's discovery follows a broader trend of communities re-evaluating their use of surveillance technology. Many communities, including St. Lucie County, have recently voted to remove Flock cameras from their jurisdictions due to concerns about data privacy and potential misuse. St. Lucie County Commissioner James Clasby voiced these concerns during a September 1 vote, stating, "At this time we don’t know what other actors have access to our information… what Flock the company itself has access to and who it’s sharing or selling its information to." His statement proved prescient, as the county subsequently found the mysterious cameras secretly recording its roads. The situation is further complicated by a directive from Florida's Department of Transportation in August, which ordered law enforcement agencies to remove cameras from state highways amidst growing concerns about misuse and data privacy. Governor Ron DeSantis has also been involved in discussions regarding surveillance technology within the state.