St. Martin Parish Sheriff: Flock Cameras Have Solved Numerous Crimes

ST. MARTIN PARISH, La. — St. Martin Parish Sheriff Becket Breaux says the roughly 15 Flock Safety cameras deployed across the parish have helped his office close cases the department otherwise might not have solved, even as the automated license plate readers face growing pushback in Louisiana and a possible statewide ban.

The cameras, which photograph license plates and vehicle details as drivers pass, work similarly to the National Crime Information Center database deputies already use to check criminal histories, Breaux said.

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“It’s almost like NCIC, which is a database where we run criminal histories and find out if people’s wanted. These cameras are able to look at that and help us solve crimes, and believe it or not, over the past few years we have been using it and it’s solved numerous crimes,” Breaux said.

How St. Martin Parish Deputies Access the Data

Breaux said his office cannot pull footage on just anyone. Deputies need a case number and a documented reason before searching for a specific plate.

“If it’s mom and dad driving their kids to school and you’re not committing a crime, you have no worries in the world. Our deputies surely don’t just look at people driving to school and doing their normal day activities. If you’re a criminal and you’re committing a crime, yes, we’re looking for you,” Breaux said.

St. Martin Parish Sheriff's Office Vehicle

The safeguard mirrors concerns raised across Acadiana in recent months as more residents have discovered how many Flock cameras now surround them. Two Lafayette men were charged this summer after deputies said they tore down a camera on East Verot School Road, and the arrests reignited a broader local debate over privacy, oversight and how long the footage sticks around.

Flock Is Cutting How Long Footage Is Stored

That last question has new weight for St. Martin Parish. Flock Safety announced this month it is lowering its recommended default retention window from 30 days to seven, saying its own data shows more than 90% of searches without a full plate number are completed within a week. Existing customers keep their current retention period unless they choose to switch, but Breaux said even the option worries him.

“If you go on vacation or you have a camp in St. Martin Parish and something’s missing and you just notice it, a burglary or even a homicide where the crime didn’t come up until seven days after, then we have an issue of trying to get that data back, especially if the threshold is only seven days,” Breaux said.

St. Martin Parish’s cameras currently hold data for 30 days. Flock’s shorter window is meant to accompany a new “Evidence Mode” feature, letting investigators manually preserve footage tied to active cases so it isn’t automatically deleted.

A State Lawmaker Wants Flock Cameras Gone Entirely

Breaux’s defense of the technology comes as state Rep. Danny McCormick, R-Oil City, prepares legislation for next spring’s session that would ban Flock cameras statewide. McCormick, whose District 1 covers part of Caddo Parish, has argued the cameras amount to warrantless mass surveillance that violates Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches.

McCormick has said he’s fielded thousands of messages from Louisiana residents opposed to the cameras and is currently filing public records requests to review how local governments are permitting the devices. He has not disputed that the technology helps solve crimes, framing his objection instead around civil liberties rather than effectiveness.

The proposal would need to clear the Legislature when lawmakers reconvene next spring, meaning St. Martin Parish’s cameras are expected to remain in operation through the rest of this year regardless of the outcome.

What This Means for St. Martin Parish Residents

For now, Breaux’s message to residents is that ordinary drivers have little to worry about from the cameras his office runs. Anyone with questions about how St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office policy handles Flock data, including retention and search authorization, can contact the sheriff’s office directly at 337-394-3071.

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