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License-plate readers · Itasca

Itasca

Using license-plate readers · 2 agencies documented

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Grand Rapids Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Axon, Flock Safety
Cameras
25
16 squad-mounted Axon readers per the 2025 audit plus 9 fixed Flock cameras in city limits listed on the BCA list as reported in Aug.-Sept. 2026.
  1. Sept. 25, 2023 Council agenda item to approve an ALPR policy after new in-squad cameras with ALPR were installed earlier in 2023. (City of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, Sept. 25, 2023)
  2. July 28, 2025 City Council approved an updated ALPR policy covering mobile and fixed readers. (City of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, July 28, 2025)
  3. Sept. 25, 2025 Rampart Audit found the program substantially compliant for the two years ended July 31, 2025; 16 mobile Axon readers, no fixed readers. (Minnesota Legislative Reference Library (filed audit), Sept. 25, 2025)
  4. Aug. 7, 2026 WDIO reported the BCA list shows nine fixed ALPR locations for the department. (WDIO, Aug. 7, 2026)
  5. Sept. 16, 2026 KAXE reported the department operates nine Flock cameras in city limits per the BCA; the department did not comment. (KAXE, Sept. 16, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Flock fixed cameras appear to post-date the July 2025 audit; contract and start date not found.

From agency records.

Itasca County Sheriff's Office

Status
Ended or removed
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
19
Fixed locations listed for the sheriff's office on the BCA list, as reported by WDIO in Aug. 2026; KAXE reported 'over a dozen'.
Contract
Flock Safety: period not stated · to Sept. 10, 2026 · County canceled all Flock contracts; no board vote reported. (KAXE, Sept. 16, 2026)
  1. Aug. 7, 2026 WDIO reported 19 fixed ALPR locations listed for the sheriff's office on the BCA list. (WDIO, Aug. 7, 2026)
  2. Sept. 10, 2026 All Flock cameras under county jurisdiction were down and the contracts canceled, a county commissioner told KAXE. The sheriff said about five cameras remained when they were taken down, others having already been cut down or damaged. (KAXE, Sept. 16, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • The sheriff told KAXE that Flock wanted the county to pay for new cameras after the damage. Dates of the damage were not reported.

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.