Sheriff Chitwood: "Scumbags", Beaches & Flock Cameras #shorts
The short version: WFTV's short clip shows Sheriff Chitwood touting his blunt style and Flock camera use in Volusia County without any real scrutiny of the surveillance tradeoffs.
Our Take
Credit to WFTV Channel 9 for capturing Sheriff Mike Chitwood in his natural habitat: tough talk, folksy charm, and a quick nod to Flock cameras as just another tool in the box alongside beach patrols and 'direct communication.' That's the pattern we keep seeing — ALPR networks get folded into a sheriff's personal brand of 'hands-on policing' rather than treated as the significant surveillance infrastructure they actually are.
Calling people 'scumbags' plays well in a 30-second local news hit, but it does nothing to explain how many Flock cameras Volusia County has deployed, who can access the plate-read data, how long it's retained, or whether any independent audit has ever happened. Short-form coverage like this tends to sell the vibe of law enforcement toughness while skipping the actual policy questions residents deserve answers to.
If you live in or around Volusia County, don't rely on a sheriff's soundbites to know what's watching you. Check our camera map to see what's been documented nearby, and visit take-action for ways to push your local officials toward real transparency on ALPR use.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of WFTV Channel 9, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.