So, anybody can just buy a some Fluck cameras and start blanketing an area for some DIY mass surveillance?

Sweet, I'm on it..

Who owns the property they are on? If it is public, is it a permanent installation (like they dug a hole) or attached to a utility pole?

Sounds like one way of discovering the owners is to simply impound the lot and see who comes to claim them. In the old days of admins, this was called the "Flip the switch and let 'em bitch" solution.