Flock camera debate grows as Dayton, St. Paul city councils set to take action
The short version: KSTP 5 reports Dayton and St. Paul city councils are both taking up Flock ALPR policy this week, showing local pushback is spreading across Minnesota.
Our Take
Credit to KSTP 5 Eyewitness News for tracking something that national outlets usually ignore: the slow grind of city council meetings where Flock contracts actually get decided. Two Minnesota cities, same week, same fight — that's not a coincidence. It's what happens when residents start asking who's watching the cameras that are already watching them.
This is exactly the pattern we track at DeFlock USA. Flock doesn't roll out with public debate baked in — it rolls out through a vendor pitch to a city manager, then a quiet council vote, and only later do residents discover a network of plate readers logging every car that passes. When councils like Dayton's and St. Paul's actually hold the conversation in public, before the cameras go live or get renewed, that's a rare win for transparency, regardless of which way the vote goes.
If you live near either city, or anywhere else, check whether Flock has already set up shop using our camera map, and if a vote is coming up in your town, see our take-action page for how to actually show up and make your city council do its job.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of KSTP 5 Eyewitness News, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.