Minnesota police lose surveillance cameras to vandals amid privacy backlash
Vandals have stolen or damaged Flock license-plate cameras in cities across Minnesota, including eight taken in Winona and five in Duluth, amid growing privacy concerns. Sources: KSTP, MPR News.
Police departments across Minnesota are reporting a wave of vandalism and theft targeting Flock Safety license-plate cameras. In Winona, eight cameras were stolen between July 29 and August 1, cut down from their poles. Duluth lost five more cameras, with a sixth damaged. In Plymouth, two cameras were damaged in July, one with its power cord pulled and the other found broken into pieces at the base of its pole. In Edina, a camera on France Avenue was vandalized in June, the fourth such incident there since 2023, with 'Flock=ICE' spray-painted nearby. Jeff Potts of the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association says each camera costs three to four thousand dollars to replace and estimates up to fifteen cities statewide have reported similar damage. Some residents say the backlash stems from fears that license-plate data collected by the cameras is being shared with federal immigration enforcement. Local police say the cameras are used strictly for criminal investigations, with audit trails and data-retention limits, and credit them with helping solve shootings and locate missing people. Source: KSTP, MPR News.