Florida deputies accused of using databases to track women

Our Take

This is the nightmare scenario critics of ALPR networks have been warning about for years, and now CBS Miami has the story of it actually happening. Two former Pinellas County deputies allegedly used their access to law enforcement databases and Flock Safety cameras not to solve crimes, but to track women they were personally interested in — one of them reportedly a 17-year-old girl. Credit to CBS Miami for digging into this case and putting names and charges to what too often stays theoretical.

Every time Flock or a police department pitches these camera networks to a city council, the sales pitch leans on 'public safety' and ignores the obvious: a database that logs everyone's movements is only as trustworthy as the person with the login. There's no camera, no algorithm, and no vendor terms of service that stops a badge from becoming a tool for stalking. Audit logs and internal policies look great in a press release; they do nothing for the person being followed until after the harm is done.

This case isn't an outlier so much as a preview of what happens at scale once thousands of these cameras blanket American streets with little independent oversight. If you want to know whether your town already has this infrastructure watching you, check our camera map, and if you'd rather not wait for the next abuse case to make the news, see what you can do at take action.