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Crystal PD ends its Flock ALPR program entirely
Went inactiveIn a public letter dated September 9, 2026, Chief Brian Hubbard announced Crystal PD has ended its use of Flock Safety ALPRs entirely, following a community information meeting and public feedback. Rather than pause the program, the department chose full separation: the 6 ALPR cameras have been physically removed and are being returned to Flock Safety, and all existing data sharing with other agencies has been turned off for the remainder of the current retention period.
What does this mean?
The agency's Flock program has stopped, either in part or for good. On the portal that usually shows up as an inactive listing or cameras that no longer report, and behind it is often a contract that was paused, allowed to lapse, or canceled outright. Agencies have ended their Flock relationship after a finished pilot, a budget decision, a council vote, or public pushback, and the same window often brings removals from other agencies' sharing lists. An inactive listing does not mean the cameras or the data are gone. Equipment can stay mounted, and plate reads already collected can stay on file, since Minn. Stat. 13.824 requires destruction within 60 days only for reads not connected to an active criminal investigation.
More from Crystal Police Department
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Crystal PD removed from the MN BCA license plate reader roster
Removed from state LPR rosterCrystal Police Department no longer appears on the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension's roster of agencies that use license plate readers (dps.mn.gov, published under Minn. Stat. 13.824). The entry was present in the 2026-09-09 snapshot and gone by 2026-09-11; the live page confirmed its absence on 2026-09-11. The removed entry had listed five fixed or stationary device locations: Bass Lake Road at 58th Avenue North; 36th Avenue North at Welcome Avenue North; West Broadway at 47th Avenue North; Nevada Avenue North at 36th Avenue North; and West Broadway at 60th Avenue North. Its "other devices with LPR capability" field read N/A. This follows Chief Brian Hubbard's September 9, 2026 letter announcing the department had ended its Flock Safety ALPR program and removed its cameras (see the separate went-inactive entry). The BCA roster is vendor-neutral and covers every ALPR vendor, so the removal indicates Crystal PD has reported to the state that it no longer operates any license plate readers.
What does this mean?
The agency no longer appears on the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension's public list of agencies that operate automated license plate readers. This can mean the agency stopped using the technology, or simply that its reporting to the BCA lapsed or was revised. Removal from the roster does not confirm that cameras are gone or that collected data has been destroyed; under Minn. Stat. 13.824, plate reads not tied to an active investigation must be destroyed within 60 days, but an agency may still hold and share records beyond that for qualifying cases.