--- title: "Florida county finds 11 unpermitted Flock cameras with unknown owners" publication: "MediaBias News" url: "https://mediabias.news/politics/florida-county-finds-11-unpermitted-flock-cameras-with-unknown-owners" api: "https://mediabias.news/api/v1/stories/florida-county-finds-11-unpermitted-flock-cameras-with-unknown-owners" markdown: "https://mediabias.news/politics/florida-county-finds-11-unpermitted-flock-cameras-with-unknown-owners.md" audio: "https://mediabias.news/api/audio/florida-county-finds-11-unpermitted-flock-cameras-with-unknown-owners" category: "Politics" area: "United States" published: "2026-10-01T17:05:27.680Z" source_reported: "2026-10-01T16:49:33.000Z" updated: "2026-10-01T17:05:27.680Z" trust_score: 60 critic_score: 70 hype_score: 20 assessment_type: "coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis" fact_check_status: "not-performed" coverage_measured: "2026-10-01T17:56:13.739Z" --- # Florida county finds 11 unpermitted Flock cameras with unknown owners *Officials are giving owners 30 days to remove the devices or face further action.* **Scores for the source reporting** (0-100, assessing the original journalism this article was written from, not this write-up): - Trust 60 of 100, higher is better. Central claim attributed to The Washington Post, with multiple outlets corroborating. - Craft 70 of 100, higher is better. Reporting is clear and holds together, with affected parties quoted or given a right of reply. - Hype 20 of 100, lower is better. Language is measured and proportionate, with no notable sensationalism or loaded adjectives. Scored by MediaBias News; method at https://mediabias.news/methodology. **The short version** - St. Lucie County, Florida, found 14 Flock cameras operating without required permits. - The county Sheriff's Office claimed ownership of three cameras, but 11 have no publicly identified owner. - Officials are issuing a 30-day deadline for owners to remove the unpermitted cameras. - County staff will cover the cameras with plastic bags until the removal deadline. St. Lucie County in Florida has discovered 14 Flock cameras operating without the necessary permits. The discovery was made as the county began removing authorized cameras. Of the 14 cameras found, the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office has claimed ownership of three. However, 11 cameras remain with no publicly identified owner, leading to concerns about who has been collecting data and who could access it. Officials have given owners 30 days to remove the unpermitted cameras. County staff plan to cover the devices with plastic bags until the removal deadline. ## Disagreement on camera status Ars Technica reported that St. Lucie County's interim administrator, Mayte Santamaria, explained that the county put up "bright red" notices on the cameras. The Washington Post reported that county spokesperson Erick Gill told them that staff plan to start placing plastic bags over the cameras. Ars Technica also reported that cops remain uncertain if the cameras are actively collecting data, a detail also noted by The Washington Post. ## What the coverage left out None of the left-rated digests mention the specific number of Flock cameras previously identified as authorized by St. Lucie County officials. The right-rated digest does not mention the specific concerns raised by residents about privacy or the past instances of police misuse of Flock cameras detailed in other reports. ## Who covered it Shares of the 8 covering outlets with a published leaning rating: - Left: 50% (4) - Centre: 37% (3) - Right: 13% (1) 0 of 8 covering outlets carried no usable leaning rating and were excluded from those percentages. Coverage measured 2026-10-01T17:56:13.739Z. **Coverage watch:** developing. Checked 9 times; 0 checks found a material change. Most recently checked 2026-10-01T19:15:19.555Z. ## How the sides framed it ### Left - The left-rated reports focused on the mystery surrounding the unpermitted cameras and the potential privacy implications. The Independent (US) and The Independent highlighted that "nobody knows who is running them" and that officials gave the unknown owner until mid-October to remove them. Ars Technica detailed past instances of police misuse of Flock cameras in Florida and across the US, citing specific cases of officers tracking ex-partners and family members. The Washington Post digest noted that residents are unnerved by the unknown camera installations and the uncertainty about data usage. All left-rated reports mentioned the county's plan to cover the cameras with plastic bags. ### Centre - Ars Technica, the centre-rated report, led with the fact that Florida cops could not explain why they installed three cameras without permits. It detailed that 11 cameras had no obvious owners, raising concerns about data access by "bad actors." The report also noted that the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office claimed three cameras but refused to explain the lack of permits. Ars Technica included information about previous police misuse of Flock cameras in Florida and quoted residents expressing unease about the unknown camera ownership. ### Right - The Washington Examiner digest, the sole right-rated report, focused on the county's intention to take down the cameras due to unknown ownership and lack of permits. It stated that officials discovered 14 Flock cameras were not permitted after a mandate from the Florida Department of Transportation. The digest noted that the county sheriff's office identified three cameras as theirs but could not identify the owners of the remaining ones. **Provisional coverage gap:** right. The watch is not closed, so this is not yet a settled blindspot finding. ## Factuality profile of the covering outlets These are published factuality ratings of the outlets, not a verdict on whether this story or its claims are true. - mixed: 1 - high: 6 - veryHigh: 1 ## Verification scope This page compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It is not a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true. ## Original reporting this was written from - [Straight Arrow News](https://san.com/cc/florida-county-discovers-mysterious-flock-cameras-with-no-obvious-owner) — Florida county discovers mysterious Flock cameras with no obvious owner - [News Facts Network](https://newsfactsnetwork.com/local-news/florida-county-finds-14-unauthorized-flock-cameras-on-public-roads) — Florida County Finds 14 Unauthorized Flock Cameras on Public Roads - [Ars Technica](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/10/florida-cops-say-they-dont-know-who-owns-11-unpermitted-flock-cameras) — Florida cops say they don't know who owns 11 unpermitted Flock cameras - [Newser](https://newser.com/story/397403/county-removes-flock-cameras-finds-a-mystery.html) — County Removes Flock Cameras, Finds a Mystery - [Washington Examiner](https://washingtonexaminer.com/policy/technology/4749930/florida-take-down-flock-camera-unknown-owner) — Florida to take down Flock cameras put up by unknown owner - [The Independent](https://independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/florida-flock-cameras-st-petersburg-b3059738.html) — Flock cameras appear in Florida town – but nobody knows who is running them - [The Independent (US)](https://the-independent.com/news/world/americas/florida-flock-cameras-st-petersburg-b3059738.html) — Flock cameras appear in Florida town – but nobody knows who is running them - [The Washington Post](https://washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/10/01/florida-county-discovers-mysterious-flock-cameras-with-no-obvious-owner) — Florida county discovers mysterious Flock cameras with no obvious owner ## Questions **How many unpermitted Flock cameras were found in St. Lucie County?** St. Lucie County officials discovered 14 Flock cameras operating without the required permits. While the county Sheriff's Office claimed ownership of three of these cameras, 11 remained with no publicly identified owner, raising privacy concerns. **What action is being taken regarding the unpermitted cameras?** Officials have given the owners of the unpermitted Flock cameras 30 days to remove them. In the interim, county staff plan to cover the cameras with plastic bags to prevent them from collecting data until the removal deadline. **Why are these cameras causing concern?** The unpermitted cameras have raised concerns because their owners are unknown, leading to questions about who has access to the data being collected and how it might be used. Past incidents of police misuse of similar technology have also contributed to unease. --- MediaBias News — https://mediabias.news. Reproduced from https://mediabias.news/politics/florida-county-finds-11-unpermitted-flock-cameras-with-unknown-owners. Please cite as: MediaBias News, "Florida county finds 11 unpermitted Flock cameras with unknown owners", https://mediabias.news/politics/florida-county-finds-11-unpermitted-flock-cameras-with-unknown-owners