Reduced Transparency
-
St. Paul PD's Flock portal shows zero plate reads but 669 searches
Reduced TransparencySt. Paul PD's Flock transparency portal (transparency.flocksafety.com/st-paul-mn-pd) is still online. Its "last updated" date is November 1, 2026. The portal reports 0 unique vehicles detected over the last 30 days, so St. Paul's own cameras collected no plate reads in that period. It reports 669 search sessions by St. Paul users over the same 30 days. It still lists 1 camera location and 7-day data retention. With no plate reads of its own and a 7-day retention period, St. Paul PD would hold no current data from its own cameras. Its searches would therefore draw on data from other agencies in the Flock network. The portal still lists 53 organizations as having access to St. Paul PD data. They include the Ramsey County, Hennepin County and Anoka County sheriff's offices, the Paul Bunyan Task Force, and the University of Minnesota PD. Context: on August 26, 2026, the mayor and police chief announced that the city's two city-owned Flock cameras would be removed. The portal does not show whether the remaining listed camera is still installed or switched on. Its zero read count is consistent with a camera that is not collecting.
What does this mean?
The agency now discloses less about its license plate readers than it did before. That can mean camera locations withheld from the state BCA roster, metrics or policy details removed from its Flock transparency portal, or counts that go blank or stop updating. Some of this information is reported under Minn. Stat. 13.824 and some is voluntary, and withholding is not by itself a sign the cameras were removed or that the law was broken. It does make it harder for residents to see where the cameras are and how they are used. The underlying records can still be requested under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. -
Edina PD stopped disclosing its 34 license plate reader locations on the state roster
Reduced TransparencyEdina PD's entry on the Minnesota BCA roster of agencies that use license plate readers (Minn. Stat. 13.824) used to list 34 fixed or stationary device locations. It now reads: "Location withheld by the police department under Minnesota Statute 13.824, Subdivision 8 (b)." The full list still appeared on Aug. 17, 2026. By Sept. 12, 2026 it had been replaced with the withholding statement, so the change happened between those two dates. FinePrint captured the list before it came down. The 34 previously disclosed locations were: • Eastbound West 44th Street at Curve Avenue • Southbound Xerxes Avenue at West 64th Street • Northbound Wooddale Avenue at West 50th Street • Southbound France Avenue at West 40th Street • Southbound Blake Road at Spruce Road • Westbound West 70th Street at Metro Boulevard • Northbound Tracy Avenue at Highway 62 • Eastbound West 70th Street at Normandale Road • Eastbound West 44th Street at Brookside Avenue • Eastbound West 77th Street at Computer Avenue • Eastbound West 60th Street at Xerxes Avenue South • Westbound Sunnyside Road west of France Avenue South • Westbound West 50th Street at Halifax Avenue • Northbound Wooddale Avenue at West 54th Street • Southdale Mall, West 66th Street (West entrance) • Southdale Mall, West 66th Street (East entrance) • Southdale Mall, York Avenue Park and Ride (northbound entrance) • Southdale Mall, York Avenue (southbound entrance) • Southdale Mall, West 69th Street (East entrance) • Southdale Mall, France Avenue (South Perimeter Road entrance) • Southdale Mall, France Avenue (North Perimeter Road entrance) • Galleria Mall entrance on West 69th Street, Entrance #1 • Galleria Mall entrance on West 69th Street, Entrance #2 • Galleria Mall, West 69th Street, Entrance #3 • Galleria Mall, West 69th Street, Entrance #4 • Galleria Mall, York Avenue, East Entrance #1 • Galleria Mall, York Avenue, East Entrance #2 • Galleria Mall, West 70th Street, East Entrance #1 • Galleria Mall, West 70th Street, Central Entrance #2 • Galleria Mall, West 70th Street, Central Entrance #3 • Northbound Bywood Street West at Interlachen Boulevard • Northbound Rolling Greens Parkway at Interlachen Boulevard • Northbound Merilane Avenue at Interlachen Boulevard • Grime Avenue South at Inglewood Avenue The new entry gives no count of withheld locations. The roster does not say whether any of these devices were removed. The other-device field still reads N/A, and Edina remains on the roster. Withheld status confirmed on the live BCA page on 2026-11-01. Edina PD uses Flock Safety and publishes a Flock transparency portal: https://transparency.flocksafety.com/edina-mn-pd. FlockFeed was not monitoring that portal when the locations were withdrawn; monitoring began Nov. 1, 2026. The BCA roster itself is vendor-neutral, so it does not say whether all 34 listed devices were Flock cameras. Source: MN DPS/BCA, Agencies that use License Plate Readers (LPR): https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/bca/data-and-reports/agencies-use-lprs-lpr
What does this mean?
The agency now discloses less about its license plate readers than it did before. That can mean camera locations withheld from the state BCA roster, metrics or policy details removed from its Flock transparency portal, or counts that go blank or stop updating. Some of this information is reported under Minn. Stat. 13.824 and some is voluntary, and withholding is not by itself a sign the cameras were removed or that the law was broken. It does make it harder for residents to see where the cameras are and how they are used. The underlying records can still be requested under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. -
Crow Wing County SO stopped disclosing its license plate reader locations on the state roster
Reduced TransparencyCrow Wing County Sheriff's Office replaced the list of camera locations on its Minnesota BCA license plate reader roster entry with this statement: "Locations (4) withheld by the sheriff's office under Minnesota Statute 13.824, Subdivision 8 (b)." The ten locations it had previously published: - State Highway 371 and Oak Drive South, Fort Ripley - State Highway 371 and Ariell Drive, Brainerd - County Road 3 and County Road 49, Brainerd - County Road 11 and Knotty Pine Road, Pequot Lakes - State Highway 371 and 3rd Street, Jenkins - State Highway 6 and Dahler Avenue, Emily - County Road 12 and County Road 8, Deerwood - State Highway 169 and County Road 138, Garrison - 26975 County Road 2, Garrison - 35507 County Road 3, Cross Lake The new entry cites four withheld locations, against ten previously disclosed. The roster does not show whether the office removed six cameras or is reporting differently. Source: Minnesota BCA, "Agencies that use License Plate Readers (LPR)": https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/bca/data-and-reports/agencies-use-lprs-lpr
What does this mean?
The agency now discloses less about its license plate readers than it did before. That can mean camera locations withheld from the state BCA roster, metrics or policy details removed from its Flock transparency portal, or counts that go blank or stop updating. Some of this information is reported under Minn. Stat. 13.824 and some is voluntary, and withholding is not by itself a sign the cameras were removed or that the law was broken. It does make it harder for residents to see where the cameras are and how they are used. The underlying records can still be requested under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act.