Flock & ALPR Cameras in Columbus, Minnesota
Volunteers have reported 3 automated license plate readers in and around Columbus — cameras that log every passing plate with a time and location.
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No new reports near Columbus in the last 30 days — checked hourly, last checked Oct 7, 13:26 UTC. Cameras only get on the map when someone looks: be the one.
Where the cameras are in Columbus
The readers mapped around Columbus break down as 3 Flock Safety. The first camera here was reported in Dec 2025; the most recent in Jan 2026.
- Lake Drive Northeast — 3 readers
Columbus in the Anoka County picture
Anoka County has 137 reported cameras county-wide and ranks #810 of 3,222 U.S. counties for cameras per resident. That’s across 367,095 residents and 2,400 road miles. By road density that is 0.06 cameras per road mile, in the top 10.8% of counties nationally.
Where contributors recorded what a camera watches, the split here is 3 traffic.
What’s watching Columbus
These aren’t red-light cameras. Automated license plate readers like Flock Safety’s photograph every plate that passes, log the time and place, and store it in a searchable database that’s often shared far beyond Columbus — here’s where that data goes. Counts cover cameras reported closest to Columbus (within ~20 km), so nearby towns share the same corridors. Spot one that’s missing? Report it on DeFlock.
What you can do in Columbus
Ask who approved these cameras, how long plate data is kept, and who it’s shared with. File a public records request, raise it at a council meeting, and see the full playbook on Take Action. Fighting this locally? Join or start a chapter and we’ll amplify you.
Not sure what one looks like? See photographs of installed cameras before you go looking.
Cameras near Columbus
← All Minnesota cameras, counties & cities
Camera reports: the open-source DeFlock project. Place data: GeoNames (CC BY).