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License-plate readers · Dakota

Dakota

Using license-plate readers · 11 agencies documented

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Burnsville Police Department

Status
Program documented, current use unconfirmed
Vendors
Flock Safety
Contract
Flock Safety: $65,000 year · approved by City Council (work session endorsement) · Staff report gives an estimated initial subscription of $65,000; Sun Thisweek calls it an annual fee for 20 cameras. (City of Burnsville, June 10, 2025; Sun Thisweek / Dakota County Tribune (ECM), June 18, 2025)
  1. June 10, 2025 At a work session, police proposed 20 solar-powered Flock cameras with an estimated $65,000 initial subscription; council members endorsed the plan, and staff said it could be running in four to six weeks. (City of Burnsville, June 10, 2025; Sun Thisweek / Dakota County Tribune (ECM), June 18, 2025)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Burnsville does not appear on the BCA list opened Oct. 30, 2026; no record of installation or use found.
  • Endorsement at a work session, not a formal contract vote, as reported.

From agency records.

Dakota County Sheriff's Office

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
8
Fixed Flock cameras in the rural patrol area, per the sheriff (Sept. 2026)
  1. Sept. 2, 2026 Local paper reported the office runs eight Flock cameras on county roads in rural townships, not inside any city, as part of a two-year pilot that was about 15 months old; data is normally deleted after 30 days. (Hastings Journal, Sept. 2, 2026)
  2. Oct. 30, 2026 Listed on the BCA's public list of agencies that told the state they use license plate readers (date we opened the page; the list shows no update date). (Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, date not shown)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Event dated to the article date; the pilot start (roughly mid-2025) is inferred from '15 months into' and not stated as a date.
  • Article lists the eight fixed locations the office reported to the BCA.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Eagan Police Department

Status
Program documented, current use unconfirmed
Vendors
Flock Safety
  1. June 10, 2025 A Burnsville staff report for a council work session named Eagan among Minnesota agencies using Flock. (City of Burnsville, June 10, 2025)
  2. Oct. 30, 2026 Listed on the BCA's public list of agencies that told the state they use license plate readers (date we opened the page; the list shows no update date). (Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, date not shown)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Vendor comes from another city's staff report, not an Eagan record. Eagan city records and a Sun Thisweek article on Eagan's readers were not reachable (article returned 404).
  • A Sept. 2026 Hastings Journal story mentions the department running its own plate-reader system in passing; with no audit, contract or city record from the last 12 months, current use is marked unconfirmed (editor, Oct. 31, 2026).

Secondhand report; not yet confirmed with the agency.

Farmington Police Department

Status
Program documented, current use unconfirmed
Vendors
Vendor not named in source
  1. Oct. 30, 2026 Listed on the BCA's public list of agencies that told the state they use license plate readers (date we opened the page; the list shows no update date). (Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, date not shown)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Only source found in this round is the BCA list; no vendor, camera count or recent-use record located, so status is unconfirmed.

From agency records.

Hastings Police Department

Status
Checked: no program found
Vendors
  1. Sept. 2, 2026 Chief told the local paper the department has no active plate readers and no Flock cameras; the reader feature on its new Axon squad cameras is not turned on because there is no policy. (Hastings Journal, Sept. 2, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Hastings is not on the BCA list. The paper says two readers in town are privately owned at a retail parking lot.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Inver Grove Heights Police Department

Status
Ended or removed
Vendors
Vendor not named in source
  1. Dec. 21, 2021 Audit found readers had been on up to two squad cars from December 2019 to May 2020, with no fixed readers, and the system's admin panel was no longer available. (Minnesota Security Consortium (filed with Minnesota Legislative Reference Library), Dec. 21, 2021)
Conflicts and open questions
  • The 2021 audit says the department ended its mobile reader program in May 2020, notified the BCA and was taken off the BCA list; the department is also absent from the current list. No later record was found.

From agency records.

Lakeville Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
  1. Oct. 30, 2026 Listed on the BCA's public list of agencies that told the state they use license plate readers (date we opened the page; the list shows no update date). (Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, date not shown)
  2. Oct. 30, 2026 City police page (undated, live when opened) says the department uses Flock for after-the-fact searches and real-time hotlist alerts, and links a transparency portal and ALPR policy. (City of Lakeville, date not shown)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Status rests on a live, undated city page plus the BCA list; contract details not found (Flock portal blocked our fetch).

From agency records.

Rosemount Police Department

Status
Program documented, current use unconfirmed
Vendors
Vendor not named in source
  1. Oct. 30, 2026 Listed on the BCA's public list of agencies that told the state they use license plate readers (date we opened the page; the list shows no update date). (Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, date not shown)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Only source found in this round is the BCA list; no vendor, camera count or recent-use record located, so status is unconfirmed.

From agency records.

South St. Paul Police Department

Status
Program documented, current use unconfirmed
Vendors
Vendor not named in source
  1. Aug. 11, 2025 Biennial audit found the department in compliance with the ALPR law. (Local Government Information Systems (LOGIS) (filed with Minnesota Legislative Reference Library), Aug. 11, 2025)
  2. Oct. 30, 2026 Listed on the BCA's public list of agencies that told the state they use license plate readers (date we opened the page; the list shows no update date). (Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, date not shown)
Conflicts and open questions
  • The latest audit (Aug. 11, 2025) is about 14 months old and does not name the vendor; a Sept. 2026 Hastings Journal article refers to South St. Paul police operating a plate-reader system.
  • A Sept. 2026 Hastings Journal story mentions the department running its own plate-reader system in passing; with no audit, contract or city record from the last 12 months, current use is marked unconfirmed (editor, Oct. 31, 2026).

From agency records.

West St. Paul Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety, Axon
Cameras
24
10 fixed Flock plus 14 mobile Axon at the time of the 2026 audits
  1. July 30, 2026 Audit: 10 fixed Flock readers, in use from Sept. 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026. (Minnesota Security Consortium (filed with Minnesota Legislative Reference Library), July 30, 2026)
  2. Aug. 4, 2026 Audit: 14 mobile Axon readers, in use from Jan. 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026. (Minnesota Security Consortium (filed with Minnesota Legislative Reference Library), Aug. 4, 2026)
  3. Oct. 30, 2026 Listed on the BCA's public list of agencies that told the state they use license plate readers (date we opened the page; the list shows no update date). (Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, date not shown)
Conflicts and open questions
  • FOX 9 (Sept. 30, 2026) listed West St. Paul among places that 'opted to either cancel or pause' Flock contracts, with no details. Flock status after June 2026 is unresolved; Axon readers had no reported change.

From agency records.

Northfield Police Department

Status
Checked: no program found
Vendors
  1. March 2026 The police chief said the department has no Flock contract, no plate-reader cameras and no in-car plate-reader software. (KYMN Radio, March 27, 2026)
  2. July 2026 The chief said again that the city has no Flock cameras and no talks with the council about adding them. (KYMN Radio, July 20, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • The chief said in March 2026 that squads have Axon camera systems but do not use in-car plate-reader software. Interview dates were not given; events are dated by month.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Statewide

  1. 2015 Minn. Stat. § 13.824 enacted (2015 c 67, s 3); later amended in 2021 (1st Spec. Sess.) and 2024 (c 127). It limits what ALPRs may collect, requires destruction of non-investigative data within 60 days, limits sharing to qualifying law-enforcement agencies, requires a public log of use and list of fixed locations, requires a biennial independent audit filed with the Legislative Commission on Data Practices and others within 30 days, requires written authorization and an active-investigation basis for access, and bars tracking an investigative subject without a warrant or exigent circumstances. (Enactment year only; month not checked.) (Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, date not shown)
  2. 2015 Subdivision 8 requires agencies to notify the BCA within 10 days of installing or using an ALPR (including fixed locations); the BCA keeps a public list of agencies and reader locations unless a location is classified as security information. (Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, date not shown)
  3. Nov. 20, 2025 The Legislative Commission on Data Practices took public testimony on ALPR and body-camera reporting requirements. (Legislative Coordinating Commission, Nov. 20, 2025)
  4. Dec. 11, 2025 The commission's members discussed ALPR and body-camera reporting requirements and potential statutory updates. (Legislative Coordinating Commission, Dec. 11, 2025; Legislative Coordinating Commission, Dec. 11, 2025)
  5. March 12, 2026 HF 4205 (Tabke) introduced: it would tighten ALPR data restrictions, centralize ALPR data in the BCA, and regulate private-entity ALPR use; referred to House Judiciary Finance and Civil Law with no further action shown. (Minnesota Legislature / Revisor of Statutes, March 12, 2026)
  6. March 23, 2026 Senate companion SF 4739 (Verbeten) introduced and referred to Judiciary and Public Safety; no further action shown. Its text would amend § 13.824 and add related provisions elsewhere in state law. (Minnesota Legislature / Revisor of Statutes, March 23, 2026; Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, March 19, 2026)
  7. July 2026 A Star Tribune investigation published in July 2026 (exact date not confirmed) reported that law enforcement agencies inside and outside Minnesota searched plate-reader data from Twin Cities suburbs for civil immigration enforcement. Sahan Journal said the investigation found about 30 state, county and federal agencies ran such searches on cameras in at least eight suburbs between November 2025 and March 2026. MPR News reported hundreds of such searches, mostly on Fridley's cameras. The Minneapolis City Council bulletin said the investigation reported that federal immigration agencies such as ICE could access Flock data. In October 2026 the Star Tribune said the searches took place during Operation Metro Surge. (Sahan Journal, Aug. 18, 2026; MPR News, Aug. 17, 2026; City of Minneapolis, Oct. 1, 2026; Government Technology (TNS / Minnesota Star Tribune), Aug. 4, 2026; Government Technology (TNS / Minnesota Star Tribune), Oct. 26, 2026; FOX 9, Aug. 14, 2026)
  8. Oct. 30, 2026 The BCA public list, checked Oct. 30, 2026, names 117 agencies that reported using ALPR or devices with ALPR capability. The page shows no 'last updated' date. (Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, date not shown)

State agencies

Minnesota State Patrol

Status
Program documented, current use unconfirmed
Vendors
PIPS Technology
Cameras
6
ALPR systems on patrol vehicles at the 2024 audit.
Sources
Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, date not shown
  1. Feb. 27, 2024 Audit (Jan. 1, 2022 to Dec. 31, 2023) reported six active ALPR systems on patrol vehicles and no stationary units; it reviewed the PIPS Technology BOSS system. (Minnesota Legislative Reference Library (filed audit), Feb. 27, 2024)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Still on the BCA public list (no fixed locations) as of Oct. 30, 2026; no 2025-2026 audit located.

From agency records.