West St. Paul City Council - March 9, 2026 - public comment on Flock ALPR cameras
The short version: A West St. Paul resident's public comment on Flock ALPR cameras shows local pushback is spreading to city councils across the country, one meeting at a time.
Our Take
Chris Daniel's clip from the West St. Paul City Council meeting captures something we see repeated in town halls nationwide: a resident using their three minutes at the podium to push back against a Flock Safety contract before it becomes permanent infrastructure. These moments rarely make the evening news, but they're where surveillance policy actually gets decided — not in press releases, but in fluorescent-lit council chambers with a handful of people paying attention.
West St. Paul is a small city, but its ALPR decision matters beyond city limits. Flock's pitch to local governments is always the same: crime-fighting convenience, minimal oversight required. What gets left out is the network effect — once a city signs on, its cameras feed into a searchable, cross-jurisdictional system that can track anyone's movements regardless of whether they've ever been suspected of a crime. A single public comment won't stop that machine, but it forces council members to put their justification on the record, which is exactly the kind of friction this technology depends on avoiding.
If you want to know whether Flock or similar ALPR systems are already watching your commute, check our camera map, and if you're planning to show up at your own council meeting, our take-action resources can help you make the case.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Chris Daniel, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.