A St Paul group is working to educate residents about Flock cameras and what it means for privacy

Our Take

Credit to RickieBobbieNO26 for covering what local news often misses: the grind of neighbors sitting down with neighbors to explain what a Flock camera actually logs every time their car rolls past. This St. Paul group didn't wait for a city council hearing to get permission to care about their own privacy — they're doing the unglamorous work of door-knocking and fact-sharing, which is exactly the kind of grassroots pressure that's forced other Minnesota cities to reconsider or outright cut their Flock contracts.

The video's mention of vandalism popping up in other towns is worth sitting with. That's not a strategy we endorse, but it's a predictable symptom of what happens when departments install blanket surveillance networks with little public input and even less transparency about data retention, sharing agreements, or who gets access. When residents feel locked out of the conversation entirely, some will eventually take it into their own hands. Education campaigns like the one in St. Paul are the better path — they build the kind of informed, organized opposition that actually changes policy instead of just generating headlines.

If you want to see whether your own block is already wired into this network, check our camera map, and if you're ready to push back the smart way, our take-action page has the tools to help you organize like St. Paul is doing.