St. Petersburg Flock cameras: Man stages weekly protests over privacy concerns

The Brief

  • A 77-year-old resident is staging weekly protests against St. Petersburg Flock cameras, arguing the automated license plate readers infringe on privacy.
  • St. Petersburg police utilize about 50 of the cameras across the city to track missing persons and investigate active crimes.
  • Rekor Systems and Flock Safety state that data access is restricted, permanently logged, and designed to assist law enforcement.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. A retired Florida resident is spending his weekends raising awareness about automated surveillance by protesting outside St. Petersburg Flock cameras.

St. Petersburg Flock cameras protest

What we know:

Every Saturday, 77-year-old Carl Gunn sets up beneath a different camera with a homemade sign attached to a nearly 10-foot pool skimmer. He wants to peacefully draw attention to unanswered privacy concerns surrounding the technology rather than vandalize property.

“I said, ‘what can I do to voice my opinion?’” Gunn said. “They’re destroying property. I don’t want to do that.”

Police camera data collection

By the numbers:

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