Three years in, the Faribault Police Department says flock cameras have been worth the investment

Our Take

Credit to KEYC News Now for covering the renewal, but this is the same pattern we see in city after city: a police department says the cameras are "worth it," reporters nod along, and nobody asks for the receipts. "Worth the investment" is doing a lot of work in that headline. Worth it compared to what? How many cases were actually solved because of a plate hit versus solved through regular police work that got a Flock camera added to the file afterward? Faribault taxpayers deserve real numbers, not a vibe check from the department that requested the budget line.

Three years in is also exactly the point where these systems become normalized. The first contract gets scrutiny because it's new and the city council asks questions. The renewal sails through because now it's just part of the budget, like streetlights. That's how a temporary pilot program quietly becomes permanent infrastructure that logs every car that drives through town, whether or not its owner has ever been suspected of anything. Nobody voted on that outcome — it just accumulated, contract renewal by contract renewal.

If you live in or near Faribault, it's worth checking whether your own routes are being logged. Our camera map tracks known Flock locations so you can see for yourself, and our take-action page has tools for pushing your city council to demand audit logs, retention limits, and public reporting before the next five-year renewal sails through on faith alone.