License plate readers gone for good in Winona, police not re-installing Flock cameras
The short version: Winona, Wisconsin pulls the plug on Flock ALPRs for good, proving public pressure can actually roll back surveillance once it's installed.
Our Take
Credit to FOX2548 & WIProud for reporting on something we don't get to cover often enough: a town that said no and meant it. Winona's police department isn't just pausing its Flock Safety camera program — they're not putting the cameras back up. That's a rare reversal in a surveillance landscape where the usual trend line only points one direction: more cameras, more vendors, more data retention, more mission creep.
What makes stories like this matter isn't just the hardware coming down. It's the precedent. Every police department and city council weighing a Flock contract is watching what happens in towns that tried it and backed out. When a department walks away from ALPRs, it's worth asking publicly why — cost, effectiveness, privacy blowback, or all three — because those answers are ammunition for the next town having the same fight.
If you want to see whether your own neighborhood has these cameras watching you right now, check our camera map, and if you'd rather not wait for a reversal like Winona's, our take-action page has the tools to start pushing back before the contract gets signed.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of FOX2548 & WIProud, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.