{"id":92782,"date":"2026-02-18T02:52:28","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T05:52:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tech.einnews.com\/article\/893297095"},"modified":"2026-02-18T02:52:28","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T05:52:28","slug":"lee-county-residents-raise-privacy-concerns-about-flock-camera-tech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/lee-county-residents-raise-privacy-concerns-about-flock-camera-tech\/","title":{"rendered":"Lee County residents raise privacy concerns about Flock camera tech"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

For many Lee County residents, questions linger each time they pass new cameras mounted along busy roadways and neighborhood streets.\u201cI never noticed this. This is pretty new. I don’t know how long it’s been sitting here,\u201d said Ashlee Pimentel, a Cape Coral resident, looking up at a pole-mounted device near her home.The cameras are automated license plate readers installed across parts of Cape Coral over the past year. Operated by Atlanta-based Flock Safety, the devices capture images of passing vehicles and record license plate numbers. The technology is intended to help law enforcement identify cars connected to crimes.For some residents, however, the growing network has sparked concerns about privacy and government overreach.\u201cIt\u2019s a company who did it? Who? We don’t know who it is and they can just be reading our license plate,\u201d Pimentel said. \u201cOnce you explain deep into it now, it’s kind of weird.\u201d Gulf Coast News first reported on the cameras in November. At the time, Flock Safety spokesperson Paris Lewbel said the system was helping agencies solve crimes and locate missing people.\u201cIt is absolutely making a difference,\u201d Lewbel said. \u201cIt’s not only helping police officers solve crimes in their jurisdiction, but it’s also helping reunite families with missing people.\u201dAfter that report, residents contacted Gulf Coast News expressing concerns about what they described as an invasion of privacy.\u201cI\u2019m disappointed that it\u2019s being used to collect personal information,\u201d said Kent Swick, a seasonal Cape Coral resident. \u201cRight now, I think it\u2019s overkill.\u201dAlex Rodriguez of Lehigh Acres said he supports the technology in serious cases but worries about its limits.\u201cIf it\u2019s for law enforcement to catch somebody who is abducting someone, to follow a lead on a bank robbery \u2014 we all agree with it,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cBut what if it\u2019s just, we want to know who was where at what time? Is that not government infringing on your civil liberties?\u201dGulf Coast News contacted every law enforcement agency in Lee County to ask whether they use the cameras, how they operate and who controls the data. Each agency declined interview requests, and Fort Myers police did not respond. Cape Coral police, Sanibel police and the Lee County Sheriff\u2019s Office confirmed they use license plate readers.The sheriff\u2019s office said the technology has played a significant role in solving crimes, including homicides, violent offenses and sex crimes.In one case last April, deputies said Lukas Carlton was accused of fatally stabbed his mother at a Lehigh Acres home and fleeing. Investigators said license plate reader cameras tracked his vehicle across the state, leading to his arrest in Pasco County.Civil liberties advocates say that even if the cameras help solve crimes, the data collection raises broader concerns.\u201cI think we all understand that not every law enforcement agency in the nation is going to have the same principles, standards that our local communities have,\u201d said Chad Marlow, senior policy counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union.Marlow said stored data could also be vulnerable to unauthorized access.\u201cWe don\u2019t like them having that information,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then there\u2019s a whole other category of people who are not authorized to get the information, but manage to get it anyway \u2014 that\u2019s kind of the hacker scenario.\u201dFlock Safety said in a statement that each customer agency \u201cfully owns and controls 100% of its data\u201d and decides if, when and with whom information is shared. By default, vehicle data is automatically deleted after 30 days unless local law or policy requires otherwise.The company said all data is encrypted using AES-256 standards and that Criminal Justice Information Services data is stored within Amazon Web Services\u2019 CJIS-compliant GovCloud.For Pimentel, the issue remains complicated.\u201cHonestly, yeah,\u201d she said when asked if she feels violated. \u201cI feel like it\u2019s 50\/50 \u2014 it could be used for good and it could be used for bad.\u201dSwick said residents simply want more transparency.\u201cPersonal information is personal information,\u201d he said, \u201cand it should stay that way.\u201dDOWNLOAD\u202fthe free\u202fGulf Coast News app\u202ffor your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV. <\/p>\n

LEE COUNTY, Fla. \u2014<\/strong> <\/p>\n

For many Lee County residents, questions linger each time they pass new cameras mounted along busy roadways and neighborhood streets.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never noticed this. This is pretty new. I don’t know how long it’s been sitting here,\u201d said Ashlee Pimentel, a Cape Coral resident, looking up at a pole-mounted device near her home.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

The cameras are automated license plate readers installed across parts of Cape Coral over the past year. Operated by Atlanta-based Flock Safety, the devices capture images of passing vehicles and record license plate numbers. The technology is intended to help law enforcement identify cars connected to crimes.<\/p>\n

For some residents, however, the growing network has sparked concerns about privacy and government overreach.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a company who did it? Who? We don’t know who it is and they can just be reading our license plate,\u201d Pimentel said. \u201cOnce you explain deep into it now, it’s kind of weird.\u201d <\/p>\n

Gulf Coast News first reported<\/a> on the cameras in November. At the time, Flock Safety spokesperson Paris Lewbel said the system was helping agencies solve crimes and locate missing people.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is absolutely making a difference,\u201d Lewbel said. \u201cIt’s not only helping police officers solve crimes in their jurisdiction, but it’s also helping reunite families with missing people.\u201d<\/p>\n

After that report, residents contacted Gulf Coast News expressing concerns about what they described as an invasion of privacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m disappointed that it\u2019s being used to collect personal information,\u201d said Kent Swick, a seasonal Cape Coral resident. \u201cRight now, I think it\u2019s overkill.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alex Rodriguez of Lehigh Acres said he supports the technology in serious cases but worries about its limits.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it\u2019s for law enforcement to catch somebody who is abducting someone, to follow a lead on a bank robbery \u2014 we all agree with it,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cBut what if it\u2019s just, we want to know who was where at what time? Is that not government infringing on your civil liberties?\u201d<\/p>\n

Gulf Coast News contacted every law enforcement agency in Lee County to ask whether they use the cameras, how they operate and who controls the data. Each agency declined interview requests, and Fort Myers police did not respond. Cape Coral police, Sanibel police and the Lee County Sheriff\u2019s Office confirmed they use license plate readers.<\/p>\n

The sheriff\u2019s office said the technology has played a significant role in solving crimes, including homicides, violent offenses and sex crimes.<\/p>\n

In one case last April, deputies said Lukas Carlton<\/a> was accused of fatally stabbed his mother at a Lehigh Acres home and fleeing. Investigators said license plate reader cameras tracked his vehicle across the state, leading to his arrest in Pasco County.<\/p>\n

Civil liberties advocates say that even if the cameras help solve crimes, the data collection raises broader concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we all understand that not every law enforcement agency in the nation is going to have the same principles, standards that our local communities have,\u201d said Chad Marlow, senior policy counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union.<\/p>\n

Marlow said stored data could also be vulnerable to unauthorized access.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t like them having that information,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then there\u2019s a whole other category of people who are not authorized to get the information, but manage to get it anyway \u2014 that\u2019s kind of the hacker scenario.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flock Safety said in a statement that each customer agency \u201cfully owns and controls 100% of its data\u201d and decides if, when and with whom information is shared. By default, vehicle data is automatically deleted after 30 days unless local law or policy requires otherwise.<\/p>\n

The company said all data is encrypted using AES-256 standards and that Criminal Justice Information Services data is stored within Amazon Web Services\u2019 CJIS-compliant GovCloud.<\/p>\n

For Pimentel, the issue remains complicated.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, yeah,\u201d she said when asked if she feels violated. \u201cI feel like it\u2019s 50\/50 \u2014 it could be used for good and it could be used for bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Swick said residents simply want more transparency.<\/p>\n

\u201cPersonal information is personal information,\u201d he said, \u201cand it should stay that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

DOWNLOAD<\/em><\/strong>\u202fthe free<\/em>\u202fGulf Coast News app<\/u><\/em><\/a>\u202ffor your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. <\/em>And check out the <\/em>Very Local Gulf Coast app<\/u><\/em><\/a> to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/a><\/strong> <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

… record license plate numbers. The technology<\/span> is intended to help law … Acres said he supports the technology<\/span> in serious cases but … sheriff\u00e2\u0080\u0099s office said the technology<\/span> has played a significant … license plate numbers. The technology<\/span> is intended to help law …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-92782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92782"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92782\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}