A series of furious debates about street surveillance cameras and privacy rights are dominating community pages on Facebook. Police departments in Paris and Norway have been dogged by callers demanding answers.

But more than a week after screenshots were shared of anti-tracking organization DeFlock’s online locator map showing street cameras at two sites on Fair Street in Norway, along with two on High and one on East Main streets in South Paris, no actual devices have been confirmed.

Viewing the online map, DeFlock’s information boxes state that the cameras were made by Flock Safety, a Georgia firm that sells and services surveillance cameras and stores data and images in a national database; that they are operated by either the Norway or Paris police departments; and they are in traffic zones.

After receiving multiple emails about the reported cameras, the Advertiser Democrat reached out to Norway Police Chief Jeff Campbell and Paris Police Chief Mike Ward, Maine School Administrative District 17 and the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office for confirmation.

Speaking by phone July 29, Campbell said the cameras have nothing to do with Norway or its police department, although plenty of people have called to question it or claim otherwise.

“The town of Norway does not use street cameras,” Campbell stated. “I’ve gone out myself to look for these cameras and I have not found them.”

Ward concurred. “These have nothing to do with Paris,” he said. “That company came around a couple of years ago and pitched them. We didn’t want anything to do with it. It would not be the right fit with our community.”

Acting SAD 17 Superintendent Steve Ciembroniewicz, who has led the district’s crisis management and response team since 2022, also denied any knowledge.

“All  SAD 17 security cameras are attached to SAD 17 buildings, not utility poles,” he wrote in an email statement. “It doesn’t sound like these are our cameras.”

Chief Deputy Sheriff James Urquhart also replied by email to confirm the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office has no connection to the cameras.

“The sheriff’s office has no cameras mounted or have any connectivity to cameras mounted in the areas mentioned,” he wrote July 30.

Another watchdog group, FlockHopper, also shows corresponding pins of street cameras on its maps of Paris and Norway.

The American Civil Liberties Union lists two more organizations as surveillance-tracking resources.

One, haveibeenflocked.com, does not list either town. There are 10 Maine cities and towns on haveibeenflocked.com’s website, including Lewiston and Auburn. The other communities are on the coast in Cumberland and York counties.

The second site is footnote4a.org. It shows that Auburn, Falmouth and York police departments have associations to Flock Safety, although that webpage was last updated in early May.

The Advertiser Democrat has reached out to both Flock Safety and DeFlock for comment.