Fletcher touts 70% auto-theft drop as St. Paul push to cut Flock cameras intensifies
Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher on Friday defended his office's use of Flock Safety license-plate readers, saying the cameras helped cut auto thefts by about 70% even as St. Paul leaders move to end the county's contract.[1]
Fletcher told FOX 9 he believes violent crime fell about 40% in Ramsey County over three years.[1] He said auto thefts fell roughly 61% over three years and another 13% in the last year, which he equated to about a 70% reduction.[1] Fletcher also said searches of the Flock database are audited every two weeks and that 20 Ramsey County sergeants may search the system.[2]
North Branch Mayor Kevin Schieber paused his city's Flock contract and covered the three cameras already installed after residents objected to mass surveillance.[3] Other local governments, including West St. Paul, Columbia Heights and Duluth, have also paused or ended Flock use amid public concern and council votes.[4] Vandals painted three units in Edina and damaged two in Plymouth, visibly disabling equipment, police said.[5] All eight Flock cameras in Winona were cut down and stolen, and Winona police said they will not reinstall the units.[6] In Faribault, charging documents say a man was arrested after allegedly cutting cables, removing a Flock unit and taping over its lens.[7]
Early coverage emphasized the backlash: vandalism, public mapping tools showing camera locations and a string of local councils pausing or ending contracts.[3] More recent reporting has shifted to amplify Fletcher's crime-reduction claims, even as St. Paul City Council President Rebecca Noecker publicly called for ending city and county Flock contracts and plans to introduce an anti-Flock resolution at a special Aug. 26 hearing.[2]
The mainstream summary highlights Sheriff Fletcher's claims about a 70% reduction in auto thefts but does not address the significant public backlash against Flock cameras, which includes vandalism and local governments pausing or ending their contracts. Early reports emphasized these community concerns, suggesting a more complicated narrative surrounding the effectiveness and acceptance of the technology. In contrast, social media insights reveal troubling incidents where Flock cameras misidentified vehicles, leading to police confrontations with innocent drivers, which raises questions about the reliability of the surveillance system and its implications for civil liberties. For instance, one user noted a case where an innocent driver was tracked for days before a mistaken alert resulted in a police ambush, highlighting the potential dangers of surveillance errors that the mainstream coverage did not fully explore. This discrepancy suggests that while crime statistics may present a positive view of Flock's effectiveness, the human cost and public sentiment surrounding its use warrant a more nuanced discussion.
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📌 Key Facts
- Justin Lee Campbell was charged by Rice County with interfering with emergency communications, theft of movable property and fourth-degree property damage for allegedly stealing a Flock camera on July 27, 2026 (Justin Lee Campbell).
- According to charging documents and a search warrant, Faribault police recovered the camera with a matching serial number and tape over its lens at Campbell’s property after surveillance showed him cutting cables, removing the unit at Lyndale Ave S and Highland Place, and later bragging about taking it in a store (Faribault police).
- A wave of vandalism and theft has targeted ALPR/Flock units across Minnesota — examples include three cameras in Edina hit with red spray paint, two vandalized in Plymouth (one found in pieces; Plymouth operates 18 units), and all eight Flock cameras in Winona cut down and stolen between July 29 and Aug. 1; the Winona Police Department said it will not replace the cameras and called for "meaningful dialogue" with the community on future tech (Winona Police Department).
- Multiple Minnesota jurisdictions have paused, ended or otherwise pulled back Flock contracts amid public backlash and trust concerns — examples cited include North Branch (mayor Kevin Schieber paused the contract and physically covered three cameras), West St. Paul, Columbia Heights, Duluth, Isanti County (will discontinue use after an eight‑camera free trial ends in August), Sherburne County and others (North Branch).
- Flock announced policy changes in response to scrutiny: it will cut its default data-retention period from 30 days to 7 days, add an offense filter to allow sharing plate data for crimes but not for immigration enforcement, and require an 'audit assistance' tool that flags abnormal camera usage (Flock).
- Public mapping tools and campaigns — including sites and the app 'DeFlock' and a coordinated 'National Week Against automated license plate readers' — are documenting camera locations and helping residents route around or pressure officials over the network (DeFlock).
- St. Paul City Council President Rebecca Noecker has publicly called for ending both city and Ramsey County contracts with Flock and is expected to formally introduce an anti‑Flock resolution at a special council hearing scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, August 26; St. Paul Police currently own two Flock cameras while the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office owns the other 11 within city limits (Rebecca Noecker).
- Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher has defended keeping his office’s Flock contract, called ALPRs "one of the best technologies" of his 40‑year career, said 20 county sergeants can search the Flock database with searches audited every two weeks, and attributed a three‑year 40% drop in violent crime and roughly a 70% drop in auto thefts to the cameras (Sheriff Bob Fletcher).
📰 Source Timeline (9)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Fletcher now publicly claims a 40% drop in violent crime over three years and a 70% drop in auto thefts in Ramsey County over the same period, which he attributes to Flock cameras.
- He cites a chart showing violent crime down 40%, auto thefts down 61% over three years plus another 13% this last year, which he equates to a 70% reduction in auto thefts in three years.
- Fletcher states that his office audits Flock searches every two weeks, deletes data, and that they "fire" bad cops "as fast as we can identify them," directly addressing privacy and misuse concerns.
- The story confirms St. Paul City Council President Rebecca Noecker is expected to formally introduce her anti-Flock resolution at Wednesday’s council meeting, escalating the policy fight.
- FOX 9 notes Noecker did not respond to a request for comment after Fletcher publicly called her out by name in his Facebook Live defense of Flock.
- St. Paul City Council President Rebecca Noecker publicly called for ending both city and Ramsey County contracts with Flock in a social media video, citing privacy and immigration concerns.
- The St. Paul City Council scheduled a special hearing on Flock cameras and automated license plate readers for 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, August 26.
- St. Paul Police currently own just two Flock cameras and say they have no plans to add more, while the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office owns the other 11 Flock units within city limits.
- Sheriff Bob Fletcher flatly rejected ending his office’s Flock contract, calling ALPRs “one of the best technologies” in his 40‑year career and claiming they helped drive down carjackings and auto thefts over the past three years.
- Fletcher said 20 Ramsey County sergeants can search Flock’s database and that those searches are audited every two weeks, and he outlined a policy of case‑by‑case data sharing with outside agencies who must provide a case number and a specific crime under investigation.
- Confirms that St. Louis Park residents are now actively organizing to end their city's Flock contract, adding them to the list of pushback cities.
- Documents that Wyoming, Minnesota, has just renewed its Flock contract for four cameras, over at least one council member’s objection that the system produced only two leads in a year.
- Provides detailed on-the-record comments from Wyoming Police Chief Neil Bauer about his internal auditing practices and tight limits on data sharing with other agencies.
- Frames and dates a coordinated "National Week Against automated license plate readers" that is expected to escalate public debate and pressure on local councils.
- Restates Flock’s national scale—about 20 billion plate reads a month with a claimed 93% accuracy—in the context of Minnesota policy fights, giving residents a sense of how large and error-prone the network could be.
- Flock will cut its default data-retention period from 30 days to 7 days.
- The company is adding an offense filter that allows cities to share plate data for crimes but not for immigration enforcement.
- Flock will require all law-enforcement customers to use an 'audit assistance' tool that flags abnormal camera usage and has already been used to identify alleged officer misuse.
- Public tools like DeFlock are mapping Flock camera locations and suggesting routes to avoid them, underscoring how widespread the network is and how residents are actively trying to steer clear.
- The article recaps a growing list of Minnesota agencies that have ended or paused Flock contracts, tying those decisions explicitly to community trust and backlash: Duluth, West St. Paul, Columbia Heights, North Branch, Isanti County, Sherburne County, and Winona.
- All eight of Winona’s Flock cameras were cut down and stolen between July 29 and Aug. 1, discovered when the system showed no activity.
- Winona Police Department publicly stated Flock had been effective and had not been misused locally but said its use was adding to "growing concerns about trust in policing."
- Winona PD has decided not to reinstall any Flock cameras and says any future advanced tech will require "meaningful dialogue" with the community first.
- The thefts occurred at four highway intersections where cameras were mounted in pairs, with severed poles left nearby.
- North Branch Mayor Kevin Schieber has paused the city’s Flock contract and physically covered the three cameras already installed after resident pushback about mass surveillance and government overreach.
- Isanti County Sheriff Wayne Seiberlich says his office will discontinue use of Flock cameras when an eight‑camera free trial ends in August, citing an overwhelming volume of alerts rather than any specific abuse.
- West St. Paul has suspended its Flock contract and Columbia Heights voted earlier this summer to end its relationship with Flock, making them among the first metro cities to formally step back.
- Local officials report growing public concern that camera proliferation has reached a breaking point, and some communities have experienced vandalism and removal of Flock units as part of the backlash.
- Confirms three Flock automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras in Edina were hit with red spray paint on a single night, visibly disabling the equipment.
- Reports that Plymouth has had two ALPR cameras vandalized in the past month, including one camera found in pieces at the base of its pole; Plymouth has 18 ALPR units citywide.
- Lists additional Minnesota jurisdictions reporting ALPR camera vandalism/theft: Anoka County, Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, Prior Lake and Winona.
- Quotes Plymouth Police Chief Erik Fadden saying ALPR issues have become the thing that "probably takes up most of my time" in recent weeks due to resident calls.
- States each Flock camera costs roughly $3,000 per year and notes state law requires ALPR data deletion within 60 days, with many departments, including Plymouth, purging after 30 days.
- Highlights that websites and apps publicly map camera locations, which police say may be making them easy targets for vandals.
- Includes a Flock corporate statement arguing that vandalizing cameras is illegal and can prevent Amber Alerts, missing-person alerts and violent-crime leads from reaching officers.
- Rice County charged Faribault resident Justin Lee Campbell, 41, with interfering with emergency communications, theft of movable property, and fourth-degree property damage for allegedly stealing a Flock camera on July 27, 2026.
- Complaint says Campbell had repeatedly talked in a local store about Flock cameras tracking him entering and leaving Faribault, then allegedly cut the cables, removed the camera at Lyndale Ave S and Highland Place, taped over its lens, and later brought it into the store bragging he’d taken it.
- Faribault police executed a search warrant, recovered the camera with the matching serial number and tape over the lens at Campbell’s property, and linked him to store surveillance and a backpack seen in the footage.
- Charging documents explain Faribault’s contract with Flock to use automated license plate readers to aid criminal investigations, locate missing people, and push Amber/KOPS alerts directly to officers and dispatch.