Columbia Heights poised to remove all of its city-owned Flock cameras
FILE PHOTO: Flock license plate reader and camera with solar panel against a blue sky, Pleasant Hill, California, April 16, 2026. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images) (Getty Images)
COLUMBIA HEIGHTS, Minn. (FOX 9) - The Columbia Heights City Council is poised to cancel contracts for all 12 Flock cameras used by the city's police department and remove the devices at its meeting on Monday.
Columbia Heights to cancel Flock contracts
What we know:
An item on the council's consent agenda would direct staff to cancel all contracts with Flock Safety and cancel future renewals. The city would also move to immediately disconnect and remove the existing cameras.
The backstory:
Columbia Heights held a town hall on May 14 on Flock cameras, including a presentation from the Anoka County Sheriff's Office, which was proposing a new Flock program. During a council meeting last month, council members said they heard a lot of feedback during that townhall from community members who were concerned about the cameras.
One of the major concerns was the potential for the data from the camera being used by other agencies, especially during Operation Metro Surge. There was so much concern it seems the city decided to remove the cameras it currently has.
Flock camera concerns
Big picture view:
Flock cameras are automatic license plate readers that many police departments utilize across the country.
Law enforcement officials say the cameras can be useful tools for solving crimes. However, critics have raised concerns about the cameras being used to track the movements of citizens.
Dig deeper:
Columbia Heights signed a three-year contract with Flock Safety for 12 cameras for the police department. Earlier this year, Columbia Heights changed policy to restrict out-of-state then in-state sharing of data from the cameras.
The other side:
Flock points out that it only stores data for 30 days, and it only captures license plates – not who is driving the vehicle nor do they utilize facial recognition technology.
What they're saying:
"I really hope that we can work into more transparency and scrutiny," Council Member Rachel James said. "I'm hopeful that we can balance the needs of our public safety and support our local police, and also balance privacy, civil liberties, oversight and the trust of our residents."
"We know that this comes from not actually a discussion — I mean, it's hardly a discussion about Flock cameras as much as the community's concerned for the security of the data," Mayor Amáda Márquez Simula said. "And after everything that's happened in Columbia Heights for the last six months, so really having a space for all that trauma, it took over four hours because people really needed to share."
What's next:
The item to remove the cameras is included on the council's consent agenda, which means it's likely to be approved without debate.