@coinstalgia: Between July 29 and August 1, 2026, all eight of Winona, Minnesota's Flock Safety license plate reader cameras were cut down at their bases and stolen overnight. The metal poles were found lying in nearby weeds at each of the four intersections where the cameras had been installed, but the camera units themselves were gone. Replacing all eight will cost the city approximately $24,000, at roughly $3,000 per unit. No suspects have been identified and police are asking the public for tips. Flock Safety cameras are automated license plate readers that capture vehicle data and feed it to a cloud system used by law enforcement to track cars connected to crimes. Privacy advocates have raised concerns that the aggregated data can reveal sensitive patterns including medical appointments, religious attendance, and political activity, making the technology controversial in communities across the country. Winona is not an isolated case. Flock cameras have been spray-painted, bagged, and physically removed in cities nationwide as public resistance to mass vehicle surveillance grows. The community's response in Winona has been largely made up of alibi jokes on social media, a reaction that, depending on your perspective, says something about how the town feels about being watched in the first place. #flock #surveillance #technews #Tech #technology

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Friday 07 August 2026 02:31:12 GMT