Minneapolis has deployed a city-wide network of Flock Safety license plate readers — automated surveillance cameras that track and record every vehicle's movements, storing your location history without a warrant, without probable cause, and without meaningful public oversight.
Flock Safety is an Atlanta-based private surveillance company that sells license plate reader (LPR) systems to cities and police departments across the country. Their cameras capture every vehicle that passes — recording the plate number, make, color, and distinct features, then cross-referencing against databases in real time. Flock is the first to build a true nationwide mass-surveillance system out of its customers' cameras.[1]
Minneapolis has contracted with Flock to deploy cameras throughout the city. Every time you drive past one, your location is logged — creating a detailed map of your daily life. That includes where you worship, receive medical care, and who you visit.[2]
But Flock doesn't just record your plate. It builds a unique vehicle fingerprint for every car it scans — capturing make, model, color, body type, and physical features like roof racks, bumper damage, and decals. This means vehicles can be tracked and matched even when plates are obscured, and profiles persist across the entire Flock network nationwide.
This happens automatically. Continuously. Without your consent. And with minimal oversight from the public or the elected officials who are supposed to represent you.
LPR systems track law-abiding citizens with no suspicion of wrongdoing — collecting data on everyone to find information about a few. The ACLU calls this "comprehensive records of everybody's comings and goings" and says "the government should not be tracking us unless it has individualized suspicion that we're engaged in wrongdoing."[1]
In Minneapolis, a Unicorn Riot investigation found ALPR cameras concentrated in North Minneapolis neighborhoods with large Black populations — not where crime rates are actually highest. Near North (65% Black) has more cameras than Whittier, despite Whittier having a higher auto theft rate. The same pattern holds nationally: in Tulsa, Flock cameras were placed exclusively in majority Black and Hispanic neighborhoods, with none in wealthier white areas.[2] In Louisville, half of all people charged in LPR-related cases in 2025 were Black.[4]
In Mountain View, California, it was discovered that Flock had enabled out-of-state agencies to access local camera data without the city's knowledge or permission. The police chief called it "frankly unacceptable" and suspended the entire Flock system. A CBS News investigation found more than a dozen instances of wrongful stops due to ALPR errors.[5]
Police can access months of your location history without a warrant — where you worship, who you visit, what medical care you seek. A Virginia lawsuit is rightly claiming that LPR readers at a certain density violate the Fourth Amendment by routinely tracking people not suspected of wrongdoing.[6]
Flock data is being used by ICE to carry out deportations nationwide. Audit logs from Denver showed more than 1,400 Flock searches had been conducted for ICE in a single year. Local officers have been asked to run searches on ICE's behalf — allowing federal immigration authorities to bypass sanctuary protections.[7] Flock's own CEO acknowledged the technology could be used for immigration enforcement "if it was legal in a state."[6]
Flock is now moving from still photos to live video feeds with AI-powered natural language search, letting police search footage using descriptions of vehicles, occupants, and bystanders. The company is also integrating with commercial data brokers to let police "jump from LPR to person" — linking plate scans to personal profiles without any additional warrant or oversight.[8]
Automated license plate readers are not deployed equally, and their risks are not shared equally. While sold as a public safety tool, these systems have been repeatedly documented as disproportionately harming vulnerable communities.
Research consistently shows Flock cameras concentrated in Black and brown neighborhoods. This creates a self-reinforcing cycle: surveillance generates crime data, which justifies more surveillance. The ACLU calls it a direct exacerbation of systemic racism in the criminal legal system.[2]
Flock data is being used by ICE for immigration enforcement. Local officers have been asked to run plate searches on behalf of ICE, sidestepping sanctuary policies. Syracuse, NY canceled its Flock contract specifically to protect its large immigrant community.[7]
People exercising First Amendment rights — at demonstrations, organizing meetings, or advocacy events — are having their presence documented and stored. When people know they're being tracked, they change their behavior. The ACLU's white paper identifies this chilling effect as one of the gravest dangers of mass LPR networks.[1]
Connecticut researchers documented that local driver location data was accessed by out-of-state agencies in states that criminalize abortion and gender-affirming care — despite local shield laws. Your drive to a clinic in Minnesota could generate a data trail accessible in states where that care is criminalized.[9]
Survivors need privacy. The ACLU specifically calls for ALPR rules preventing the technology from being used by abusive partners to locate vulnerable people. As long as this data is stored and accessible across thousands of agencies, no policy guarantee can truly protect survivors.[10]
The premise that "you have nothing to hide" misunderstands what privacy is for. Privacy is not about guilt — it is a prerequisite of freedom. Every person in Minneapolis is affected by this system. The question is not whether you have done anything wrong. The question is whether the government should be tracking your every move.
The Minneapolis City Council can terminate existing Flock contracts, block new deployments, and refuse renewals. Your voice matters — constituent calls and emails are the most effective driver of local policy. Cities including Denver, Syracuse, and others have already terminated their Flock contracts after resident pressure.[7]
Contact Mayor Frey directly — especially by phone. When Denver's City Council voted to terminate its Flock contract, the mayor unilaterally extended it anyway. That's why sustained pressure on both the Council and the Mayor's office matters.[7]
This email makes three specific demands: no new cameras, no contract renewals, and active cancellation of existing contracts.
Attend a City Council meeting. Public comment is your right. Speak on the record at minneapolismn.gov ↗
Share this page. The more residents who know, the harder it becomes to ignore.
Contact the ACLU of Minnesota. aclu-mn.org ↗ — they track surveillance technology and can connect you with legal resources.
File a data request. Request records on how LPR data has been used in Minneapolis at minneapolismn.gov ↗
These aren’t hypothetical risks. Flock cameras have already been used to stalk domestic partners, hunt abortion seekers, assist ICE deportations, and flag innocent people as criminals — while Flock’s own employees watched children through police camera feeds.
A review of media reports identified at least 14 cases nationwide of officers abusing Flock data to surveil romantic partners — current, former, and strangers. Cases span California, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Idaho, Florida, and more. Most officers were criminally charged and lost their jobs. Nearly all cases came to light only after victims reported the behavior — not through any internal Flock safeguard.
Institute for Justice → Apr. 2026A Unicorn Riot investigation using MPD public records found that ALPR cameras in Minneapolis are concentrated in Black neighborhoods — not where crime rates are actually highest. MPD’s 30 ALPR intersections tracked 31 million vehicles in just two months. Of those, only 12,446 were stolen — a hit rate of 0.039%. The investigation compared Near North (65% Black population, 5 ALPR intersections, auto theft rate 478/100k residents) with Whittier (26% Black, twice the population, higher crime rate of 931/100k — but only 3 ALPR intersections). The data shows cameras are placed where Black people live, not where theft is highest. “Under the auspices of an objective AI tool,” said DeFlock researcher Ed Vogel, they are “just going to reinforce the racist and classist ways in which police operate.”
Unicorn Riot → Apr. 14, 2026Senate Democrats called Flock’s data-sharing arrangement with Border Patrol an “invasive surveillance network” that may violate the Constitution. Sen. Ed Markey found CBP had access to Flock data from departments across the country — in many cases without those departments’ knowledge. Audit logs from Denver alone showed over 1,400 Flock searches conducted on behalf of ICE in a single year.
The Washington Post → Nov. 2025A Texas deputy searched more than 83,000 Flock cameras across the country — including in states where abortion is legal — logging the reason as “had an abortion, search for female.” Flock and the sheriff claimed it was a welfare check. Court records later obtained by the EFF revealed officers had opened a “death investigation” into the fetus and consulted prosecutors about charging the woman with a crime.
Illinois officials found that a Chicago-area police department had illegally shared its Flock data with the Texas sheriff, violating state shield laws. Congress launched a formal investigation into Flock.
404 Media → May 2025 Washington Post → Jun. 2025Kyle Dausman, a Colorado man, is pulled over every time he passes a Flock camera — anywhere in the state. A court data entry error confused his plate with a wanted man’s. He says he can no longer drive comfortably and fears for his safety. After the story aired, two more Coloradans came forward with identical situations, including a 76-year-old grandmother surrounded by deputies in a parking lot.
Business Insider found similar errors nationwide have resulted in people stopped at gunpoint, sent to jail, and mauled by police dogs — all due to Flock hotlist mistakes that no internal process catches.
9NEWS (NBC Denver) → Apr. 2026 9NEWS Follow-Up → May 2026Flock Safety sales employees used a police department’s camera access to watch live feeds of a children’s gymnastics class, a pool, and a Jewish community center in Dunwoody, Georgia — as sales demonstrations to other police departments. The access was discovered only through a resident’s public records request. Flock’s CEO privately apologized, admitting “poor judgement.” The Dunwoody City Council then voted to expand its contract with Flock anyway.
404 Media → May 2026Security researchers found at least 67 Flock cameras streaming live to the open internet with no username, no password, and no encryption — viewable by anyone, including a full month of archived footage. Separately, Sen. Ron Wyden revealed that at least 35 Flock customer accounts had credentials stolen by hackers and that Flock login credentials were being sold on Russian cybercrime forums. Wyden called for an FTC investigation into Flock’s security practices.
State of Surveillance → Jan. 2026