Someone installed a surveillance camera on Millcreek city property near Millcreek Common, and no one at City Hall knows who did it.

The device, an automated license plate reader made by Georgia-based Flock Safety, was discovered and removed by city officials, Millcreek City Council member Thom DeSirant confirmed Tuesday, Aug. 11. Neither the city nor Unified Police has a contract with Flock, DeSirant said.

"It makes me wonder how many of these have been placed illegally," DeSirant told KUTV. "We are actively looking at every single Flock camera that's in the city of Millcreek and working to determine if it's there legally or not."

No one has claimed it.

The camera is now in city storage while officials investigate who placed it and why. Flock Safety did not respond to KUTV's request for comment about who authorized the installation.

Unlike a standard security camera, Flock devices capture license plates and vehicle characteristics, and authorized users can then search that information. That raises a pointed question: was data on Millcreek residents collected before the device was taken down? City officials have not confirmed whether any information was transmitted.

State Sen. Stephanie Pitcher, whose district includes Millcreek, said the data question matters more than the hardware itself. "What's equally concerning, I think, is that they can take the device down, but it's the data that we're concerned about, not the device," Pitcher told KUTV. She said lawmakers may need to address who collects information from such cameras, how long it is retained and who can access it.

Sarah Whitley, a parent whose daughter plays at Millcreek Common near where the camera was mounted, said the lack of transparency is alarming. She questioned who is accessing the data and whether installations are being approved through the city council or the public.

The discovery comes as Flock cameras expand across Utah. The Garfield County Sheriff's Office announced the week of Aug. 4 that it installed eight Flock cameras along major highways, with a policy requiring every data search to be tied to a legitimate law enforcement investigation. Nationally, the cameras have drawn protests, with people in some communities cutting down the devices over privacy concerns, according to a KUTV investigation published July 31.

Millcreek officials have not announced a timeline for completing their review of other Flock cameras in the city or any policy changes. No council agenda item or public comment deadline related to the matter has been scheduled.