Florida cops turn up 11 unauthorized Flock cameras of unknown origin

The Flock license plate reader backlash continues (Image credit: Getty Images) Florida police have discovered unauthorized Flock camerasAt the moment it's not clear who is operating the devicesThe owners have been given 30 days to come forwardIt's going from bad to worse for Flock and its license plate reader cameras: following Florida's decision to take the cameras out of use on highways across the state, police have found 14 unauthorized devices along St. Lucie County roads, with 11 of those still of unknown origin.As Ars Technica reports, 3 of the 14 were claimed by the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office. They were installed without the necessary permits, but at least the agency that had installed them could be traced.When it comes to the other 11, it's really not clear who's operating them, or whether they're being actively used. County authorities are giving the owners 30 days to take them down, and may put plastic bags over them in the meantime.There have been instances of Flock itself installing cameras without having done the necessary paperwork, including a 2024 incident that was covered in Forbes. According to a Flock spokesperson, the company has already reached out to St. Lucie County officials to try and get the mystery solved as quickly as possible.Drastic actionFlorida county discovers mysterious Flock cameras with no obvious owner from r/nottheonionAs you might expect, residents are spooked by the Flock cameras of unknown origin. The devices were already being viewed with suspicion by many citizens in terms of how their data collection capabilities could be misused — and that was when they knew who it was accessing them.Resident Ty Grant told the Washington Post that the 11 unaccounted for Flock cameras had left him feeling "very unsafe", while local shop owner Todd Richter said it was imperative that the camera operators are revealed.Reaction across Reddit has run along similar sentiments, with posters declaring it's "time for the chainsaws" and speculating that foreign nations could be involved in putting up the cameras without the necessary permits.Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.There is actually one idea posted to Reddit that just might work: "Cut it down, see who comes complaining." However, for the next 30 days at least, St. Lucie County officials seem determined to offer the opportunity for the camera operators in question to come forward and reclaim their hardware (before it's taken down anyway). Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.