About FlockFeed

FlockFeed is a public, hard-linkable log of changes to Flock Safety surveillance across Minnesota jurisdictions. Flock operates automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras for police departments, sheriffs, cities, and other organizations, and publishes a “transparency portal” for many of them. Those portals change over time, and those changes are what we track.

What we track

We watch each agency's transparency portal for the occasional, meaningful changes rather than the day-to-day counters like search volume. When something changes, we log it as an update tied to an agency, with a plain-language explainer. The change types we currently use:

• ⚫ Portal taken down: An agency's transparency portal that used to exist is no longer reachable. This can mean the agency ended its Flock contract, decommissioned its cameras, or removed the public page. A missing portal does not confirm that the cameras or the data are gone. Under Minn. Stat. 13.824, plate reads not tied to an active investigation must be destroyed within 60 days, but the agency may still hold records and keep sharing them.
• 🗂️ Flock audit obtained via records request: A Flock Safety audit obtained through a public records request, often filed via MuckRock. These audits log who searched the agency's ALPR data, when, and under what stated reason. Minnesota's Government Data Practices Act (Minn. Stat. ch. 13) makes most of these records public, and Minn. Stat. 13.824 requires the query audit trail to exist in the first place. Key findings are often summarized on Bluesky or X, and the most questionable searches may be pulled into a separate flagged-searches document.
• 📊 ALPR audit released: The agency released an audit of how its automated license plate reader (ALPR) system was searched, showing figures such as the number of searches, the stated reasons, and which agencies ran them. Minn. Stat. 13.824 requires agencies to keep an audit trail of every ALPR query, and Flock can surface a version of that log. An audit is one of the few windows into how the cameras were actually used, rather than how policy says they should be used. The linked audit is the source document.
• 🎯 Detection capability changed: What the cameras detect or flag changed, such as new hotlist sources, integrations, or alert types. Broader detection enlarges the set of vehicles that trigger an alert. Some Minnesota agencies require a person to confirm a hotlist hit before officers act on it.
• • Other: A change that does not fit the standard categories. See the update's details for specifics.
• 🔴 Went inactive: The portal still exists but the agency is listed as inactive, or its cameras have stopped reporting. This often follows a paused or lapsed contract, a finished pilot, or equipment taken offline. Data the agency already collected can remain on file under Minn. Stat. 13.824, which requires destruction within 60 days only for plate reads not connected to an active investigation.
• ✂️ Stopped sharing with an agency: The agency removed a sharing partner, narrowing who can search its plate data. This can follow a policy change, public pressure, or a contract decision.
• 🔗 Started sharing with a new agency: The agency added another law enforcement agency to its sharing network, letting that agency search its plate data. Minn. Stat. 13.824 allows sharing for legitimate law enforcement purposes and requires any agency that receives the data to follow the same retention and security rules, but each new partner widens who can see where local drivers have been.
• 📄 Usage/access policy changed: The agency changed the written rules for how its cameras and data may be used, including who can run a search, what justification is required, and how access is logged. Minn. Stat. 13.824 limits ALPR use to legitimate law enforcement purposes and requires a recorded audit trail of every query, so policy edits can widen or narrow surveillance even when the cameras stay the same.
• 🏛️ Started sharing with a federal agency: The agency began sharing its plate data with a federal agency such as CBP, ICE, or the FBI. Many Minnesota portals list immigration enforcement as a prohibited use, and Minn. Stat. 13.824 bars sharing data about individuals or their vehicles without consent, a court order, or a warrant. Federal access draws scrutiny because it can feed local driving patterns into national systems.
• 🚫 Camera(s) removed: The agency's camera count went down. Cameras may have been moved, decommissioned, or pulled after a pilot. A lower count does not by itself undo earlier data sharing, because plate reads already collected can stay on file until the 60-day destruction deadline in Minn. Stat. 13.824.
• 🌐 Joined a statewide/national network: The agency connected to a broader Flock network, such as a statewide lookup or Flock's national network, which makes its data searchable by many other agencies at once and lets its own searches reach into theirs. Network membership can multiply sharing relationships well beyond the named partners, and Minn. Stat. 13.824 still requires any recipient to follow Minnesota's retention and use rules.
• ⏳ Data-retention period changed: The number of days the agency keeps plate reads changed. Minn. Stat. 13.824 requires ALPR data not linked to an active criminal investigation to be destroyed within 60 days, so a general retention period above 60 days conflicts with state law. A longer window leaves a deeper searchable history of drivers' movements, and a shorter one limits how far back a query can reach.
• 🟢 Portal went live: Flock Safety publishes a public transparency portal for each agency that uses its automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras. A new portal usually means the agency has signed a Flock contract and begun deploying cameras, or has started disclosing an existing deployment. Minnesota law (Minn. Stat. 13.824) requires agencies to log their ALPR use and notify the state BCA, which keeps a public list of agencies that operate the cameras.
• 📷 Camera(s) added: The number of ALPR cameras the agency operates went up. Each camera photographs every passing vehicle and records its plate, make, model, and color, whether or not the vehicle is on a hotlist. Adding cameras puts more local roads under automated tracking, and Minnesota requires agencies to report stationary camera locations to the state BCA.
• 🟩 Reactivated: An agency that was listed as inactive is operating again, usually after a renewed or expanded contract that brings cameras back online. Its ALPR use stays governed by Minn. Stat. 13.824, including limits on retention, sharing, and permissible purposes.
• 📥 New agency gained access: Another agency was granted the ability to search this agency's data, or this agency was added to a partner's network and can now search another jurisdiction's plate reads. Inbound access expands what a department can surveil beyond its own borders. Under Minn. Stat. 13.824, an agency that receives shared data must apply the same classification and destruction rules.

How it works

Portals are monitored for changes; confirmed changes are recorded in a structured database and published here. Every update has its own permalink so reporters, researchers, and residents can cite a specific change. Each agency and the full site offer an RSS feed.

Who makes this

FlockFeed is a project of FinePrint. Surveillance, documented. Spotted a change we missed? Send a tip.