St. Louis County sheriff ending Flock camera contract
The short version: A Minnesota sheriff pulled the plug on Flock Safety, proving ALPR contracts aren't permanent — they can be reversed when communities push back.
Our Take
Credit to WCCO - CBS Minnesota for the reporting: St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay confirmed his office ended its Flock Safety contract last month, with cameras coming down within days. We don't yet know the full backstory — cost, efficacy, public pressure, or some combination — but the outcome matters regardless of the reason. A standing network of license plate readers got switched off.
That's the part worth sitting with. Flock and its peers like to frame these contracts as inevitable infrastructure, the kind of thing that once installed just becomes part of the landscape. St. Louis County is a reminder that's not true. A sheriff can walk away from a vendor relationship, and a county can go back to policing without a permanent record of everyone's comings and goings. Contracts have renewal dates, budget lines, and officials who answer to the public — all pressure points.
If you're in a county still debating whether to sign on with Flock, or wondering if the cameras already up the road near you are logging your plate, check our camera map and see what it takes to push for a reversal like this one using our take-action resources.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of WCCO - CBS Minnesota, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.