City Council delays vote on resolution authorizing SPPD to expand drone program
2026-09-03: Saint Paul City Council delayed their vote on RES 26-1399, a resolution authorizing the Saint Paul Police Department to apply for a Department of Justice grant to fund the expansion of the City’s “Drones as First Responders” program.
The resolution comes one week after the city held a public hearing on the use of police surveillance technology. SPPD stated that they submitted their application prior to seeking the required approval to do so, in order to meet the grant application deadline. During the meeting, SPPD shared that they are seeking to expand their drone program so they can provide drone coverage over the entire city.
Many of the Council Members said they were not given enough time to understand the resolution or ask questions of SPPD about the expansion of the drone program. Without the opportunity for public testimony during the meeting, community members submitted over 30 comments online — nearly all calling on the city to reject the resolution, citing concerns over AI-powered mass surveillance and the use of Skydio drones.
(Notes on the 2026-08-26 city council meeting, following which the city removed SPPD's two Flock Safety cameras)
We are a group of concerned citizens working to end the use of AI-powered Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) in Saint Paul, Minnesota and to protect our community’s privacy.
ALPRs (or LPRs) are AI-powered cameras that capture and analyze images of all passing vehicles, storing details like a car’s license plate, location, date, and time. These cameras collect data on millions of vehicles without warrants and without any suspicion that the drivers might be involved in crime. The data is accessible to SPPD and other Flock-using agencies for 30 days, and then is retained indefinitely by Flock. This is mass surveillance without effective oversight.
These systems are inaccurate, insecure, and by design allow searching by thousands of police departments nationwide. While SPPD data is officially shared with “only” 49 cities and 16 counties within Minnesota, that data can be and has been accessed by patries outside the state. During Operation Metro Surge, ICE officers accessed ALPR systems in the Twin Cities, in contravention of state law.
The city of Saint Paul signed a contract with Flock Safety on February 12, 2025 to install a total of 16 Flock camera systems across our city. the county sheriff's office runs 9 Flock cameras within Saint Paul (33 in total). And all Saint Paul Police Department squad cars are equipped with similar technology made by Axon.
You can use the button below to make your opinion on ALPRs known to Saint Paul’s political leadership.
