All Flock Cameras in Winona, Minnesota, Cut Down and Stolen in Coordinated Theft
All of Winona Police Department's Flock cameras cut down and stolen
In a coordinated theft on August 1, all eight Flock license plate reader cameras operated by the Winona Police Department were sawed off their poles and stolen, leaving only the poles behind. Two additional cameras on the Mississippi River Bridge, owned by Buffalo County, were taken in the same manner. Each camera is valued at about $3,000, totaling roughly $24,000 in losses for the police department. The cameras, positioned at key highway entry and exit points, are used to investigate crimes and locate missing persons. The thefts are part of a broader national trend of Flock camera vandalism, which has drawn criticism from civil liberties advocates. No suspects have been identified, and the investigation is ongoing.
A patrol officer first noticed the cameras had not sent any alerts in 24 hours.
- jeremyberemy
> Police use the technology to investigate crimes such as hit-and-runs and to locate missing persons.
> No suspects have been identified.
Yeah, that tracks.
> Camera data is owned by the police department and permanently deleted after 30 days.
I assume this means that the police department deletes one local copy?
- semiquaver
> and stolen
I’m sure flock’s agreement with the Winona Police Department makes clear that they are only purchasing a license to use these cameras, so in fact the department’s cameras have not been stolen at all, they’ve merely been prevented from enjoying licensed use.
- ryandvm
Curious about the official YCombinator stance on this extremely unpopular YCombinator-backed startup (unpopular here at HN anyway).
- adzm
What alerts are they getting so often anyway? It's a little town of 25k people.
I can understand the benefit of being able to track coming and going and criminal activity etc but there is no oversight and it is already being abused.
Keeping this data within the municipality and requiring bureaucracy to coordinate with others might be the best solution I've heard, since it prevents dragnets and builds in auditing as part of the process.
See also this article about hiding usage of flock https://www.404media.co/do-not-mention-alpr-usage-how-cops-a...
- nchmy
> Each camera is valued at approximately $3,000, putting the total loss at roughly $24,000. That cost falls directly on the Winona Police Department’s budget.
Only if they replace them...
- calculatte
So one of the public-private backdoors to erode citizen's rights is being undermined. Such a shame.
- dhosek
One thing I’ve learned from reading accounts of Flock camera thefts is that you shouldn’t do more than one per outing. This sounds like a group arranged to do them all at once which also works.
- NDlurker
WINONA, Minn. (Valley News Live) - Every Flock license plate reader camera operated by the Winona Police Department has been sawed off and stolen in what investigators believe was a coordinated theft.
All eight cameras were taken Aug. 1, according to the Winona Police Department. A patrol officer first noticed the cameras had not sent any alerts in 24 hours. When officers checked the locations, they found the cameras had been cut from their poles and taken. The poles were left behind.
Two additional Flock cameras on the Mississippi River Bridge, owned by Buffalo County, were also stolen in the same manner.
Each camera is valued at approximately $3,000, putting the total loss at roughly $24,000. That cost falls directly on the Winona Police Department’s budget.
The eight WPD cameras were positioned at key highway entry and exit points throughout the city: near Highway 61 and Bundy Boulevard, Highway 43 and Homer Road, Highway 14 and Knapp Valley Drive, and Highway 61 and Highway 14. Two cameras were stationed at each location.
Flock Safety cameras are automated license plate readers that capture images of plates along with a vehicle’s make, model and color. Police use the technology to investigate crimes such as hit-and-runs and to locate missing persons. Camera data is owned by the police department and permanently deleted after 30 days.
The thefts are part of a broader national trend. Flock cameras have been vandalized and cut down in communities across the country. The tech […]