Documented Incident
All eight Flock cameras in Winona, Minnesota cut down and stolen; replacement cost put at $24,000
Event: August 1, 2026 · First reported: August 7, 2026 · 2 sources
The Winona Police Department said officers noticed on August 1 that the city's Flock Safety license plate reader network had stopped transmitting data. Checks of four locations along Highways 61, 14 and 43 found that the mounting poles for all eight of the city's ALPR cameras had been cut near the base, with the poles left nearby and the camera units taken. The department estimated replacement at roughly $3,000 per camera and pole, or about $24,000 total, and said its investigation is ongoing. No arrests were reported in the department's release.
The loss of an entire municipal ALPR network in one night raises questions about the physical durability and replacement costs cities absorb when they deploy roadside surveillance, and it adds to a pattern of camera damage and contract cancellations that local officials elsewhere are weighing.
Key facts
- Winona police said they detected the outage on August 1 after noting no recent camera activity.
- All eight ALPR cameras at four highway sites were removed; the poles were found cut and discarded nearby.
- Police estimated about $3,000 per camera and pole, roughly $24,000 to replace.
- The article reports similar Flock camera thefts or damage in Duluth, Plymouth, Edina, Eden Prairie and Minnetonka, and cancellations or deactivations in Fort Collins, CO; Eugene, OR; and Madison, WI.
- Flock Safety has roughly 120,000 ALPR and pan-tilt-zoom cameras deployed nationally, per the article; the Winona investigation remains open with no reported arrests.
Sources
This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.
- Someone Wiped Out a Minnesota City’s Entire Flock Camera Network, Leaving the Cops With a $24,000 Bill (Yahoo, August 7, 2026)
- Someone Wiped Out a Minnesota City’s Entire Flock Camera Network, Leaving the Cops With a $24,000 Bill (MotorBiscuit, August 7, 2026)
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BlockFlockNow documents reported incidents involving Flock Safety cameras and automated license plate readers: council votes, contract decisions, misuse by authorized users, lawsuits, audits, and community response. Every record is reviewed by a person before publication. New to the topic? Start with What is Flock?, find meetings near you, or learn how to request your town's camera records.
Updated August 17, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.