Overview: Community pressure reshapes St. Paul’s surveillance landscape
Contributing writer Clint Combs reports on the St. Paul City Council’s recent pivot away from automated license plate readers and first-responder drones. While city leaders cite privacy concerns and regional data sharing as reasons to pull back, local activists and council members warn that county-operated cameras and unvetted drone software still present a major threat to civil liberties.
Credit: Clint Combs/MSR
On Aug. 26, privacy activists told the St. Paul City Council to abandon any plans to use drones and automated license plate readers (ALPRs).
St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her and Police Chief Axel Henry announced plans to remove two ALPR Flock cameras following the council’s symbolic resolution, according to KSTP. In a statement to the station, the mayor’s office said it has held ongoing conversations with the police department about Flock and shares residents’ concerns about other jurisdictions accessing camera data during what officials called “Operation Metro Surge.”
The office said it convened law enforcement partners from across Ramsey County to discuss next steps and is encouraging the Minnesota Legislature to set a statewide standard balancing privacy and public safety. In the meantime, the two cameras owned by the city will be removed.
Council members Anika Bowie and HwaJeong Kim said stronger regulations are needed at the city level.
“I do support ending this contract. I also support stronger guardrails, not only just specifically to Flock, but guardrails around surveillance contracts and oversight,” Bowie said.
“Flock is one piece of the mass surveillance pie in many ways, and there are other worse actors out there,” Kim said.
County cameras and national scandals
The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office operates the city’s 10 remaining cameras, which Sheriff Bob Fletcher has no plans to remove, according to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s list of agencies that use license plate readers. Those cameras are located throughout St. Paul and in neighboring communities including North Oaks, North St. Paul, White Bear Lake and Vadnais Heights.
“If they get rid of Flock cameras, which I am hoping they won’t, St. Paul will become a much more dangerous town,” Fletcher told KSTP. “We have used those cameras to solve carjackings, auto thefts, homicides, etc. It’s the most effective tool I’ve seen in 40 years.”
The decision came amid several high-profile controversies that have dogged Flock on multiple fronts. According to the Star Tribune, local police departments have served as a backdoor for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to access camera data. According to CNN, dozens of officers have been caught searching Flock’s database to stalk romantic partners and exes. And according to 404 Media, Flock CEO Garrett Langley gave Ohio police inaccurate information about the company’s role in tracking a woman who had self-administered an abortion.
Concerns over Skydio Drones and public transparency
Activists packed the gallery at the St. Paul Council Chambers, calling on the city to end its contracts with Skydio and Flock, Aug. 26.
A dozen cities in Minnesota have canceled or plan to end their contracts with Flock. Hundreds of people rode Lime scooters as part of the Anti-Flock takeover protests.
Wyatt Millerr, an activist with the Free Palestine Coalition, called for more transparency regarding the city’s contract with Skydio. Minneapolis rejected a 75-day free trial contract with Skydio in July. St. Paul has been operating first-responder drones since 2023.
“We don’t really know what’s going on. We can’t find any public record. The contract, we don’t know how much money is being spent on it,” Miller said. “I urge you to disclose what that contract is, and to take steps towards canceling that contract.”
Beryl Lipton, senior investigative researcher for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said the secrecy surrounding Skydio is concerning given how surveillance technologies are linked to one another.
“Every new node in the surveillance network exacerbates the existing privacy issues with the surveillance network as a whole,” Lipton said. “It’s really necessary for the public oversight body to ensure that the police department has real guidelines in place for where that information can go and who gets access to it. If you don’t have boundaries in place, unfortunately, people will see how far they can take it.”
Cedar Larson, of Women Against Military Madness, spoke out against the use of Skydio and Flock. She said she doesn’t support St. Paul contracting with a company that has ties to Israel’s military.
“This puts both the vulnerable and quite possibly horrible moments of individuals’ lives on the internet for anyone to see,” Larson said. “Reviews have found that cameras have filmed hundreds of people and vehicles crossing streets, standing on sidewalks.”
According to Wired, the San Francisco Police Department accidentally exposed live drone footage after personnel misconfigured a Skydio software link, leaving it publicly accessible without a password.
Darnella Wade started the Black Truce Peace Organization after her son, D’Onjay Jackson, was critically wounded and paralyzed by gun violence in 2016. She has voiced concerns about Flock.
“The access to such surveillance technologies by police and government agencies, entities with a tendency to abuse power, is alarming,” Wade said. “It is unsettling to imagine a Flock database on our children’s school bus pickup and drop-off routines. Police have used Flock to stalk spouses, bully and coerce people, and we deplore that.”
Clint Combs is a freelance journalist and contributing writer for the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. He welcomes reader responses at combs0284@gmail.com.