St. Lucie County has found at least 14 license plate reader cameras installed on county rights-of-way without permits, and officials say they do not know who owns them. The discovery comes as the county carries out its decision to remove all automated license plate readers from county-controlled property, a directive commissioners approved Sept. 1.
County staff shared the finding with commissioners Tuesday night. The number of unpermitted cameras has climbed quickly from an initial tally. A county agenda report signed Sept. 10 said field checks had turned up three cameras at unpermitted locations.
By Tuesday, staff said the count had reached at least 14. The search is not finished. Staff said the county has not yet gone through its entire right-of-way and more unauthorized cameras may still be found. Staff is also double-checking some traffic signals that interact with state right-of-way, which could add a handful more.
Because the county has no permit on file for the 14 cameras, staff said it cannot identify an applicant to contact. Instead, the county is posting removal notices directly on the devices. Interim county administrator Mayte Santamaria said the notices are bright red and state that owners have 30 days to remove the cameras.
Staff is also bagging the cameras so they are not operable. The agenda report says staff is comparing crowdsourced data from various sources against known locations to find unknown or unauthorized installations.
The unpermitted cameras are in addition to 52 devices the county previously authorized within its rights-of-way. Staff said all 52 had received revocation notices as of Monday, giving their owners 30 days to remove them. According to the report, county permit records indicate most of the authorized devices were installed on behalf of law enforcement agencies.
The county shared its inventory with the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office, the Fort Pierce Police Department and the Port St. Lucie Police Department ahead of the notices. Staff also told commissioners there are no active applications for new devices under review.
Commissioners voted 3-2 on Sept. 1 to stop issuing permits for Flock cameras and other automated license plate readers on county-owned or county-controlled property. Commissioner James Clasby made the motion, which he said was about protecting residents' privacy. Commissioners Clasby, Lee and Lowry voted yes. Chair Jamie Fowler and Commissioner Cathy Townsend voted No. The board's direction does not apply to license plate readers mounted in law enforcement vehicles or cameras on private property.