University of Minnesota plans to remove West Bank license-plate camera after privacy backlash

The University of Minnesota said it planned to remove a recently installed Flock automated license-plate reader near Minneapolis’ West Bank within a week, after criticism about privacy, surveillance and access to camera data.

The university announced the planned removal on September 11, 2026, saying its police department determined that taking down the camera was the appropriate step to support community trust while maintaining robust public-safety coverage.

Camera was installed near the West Bank in late August

The camera was installed in late August and is one of at least 10 automated license-plate readers operated by the university. The university declined to identify the precise location. State Rep. Mohamud Noor, DFL-Minneapolis, told Axios that the camera was near the intersection of Cedar and Riverside avenues.

Noor and community members questioned the placement of surveillance equipment in the West Bank, citing privacy, public notice and uncertainty about which agencies could access information collected by the system. Noor also pointed to the neighborhood’s sizable immigrant population and its gathering places for local activists.

The university’s planned removal concerns this camera only. It does not indicate that all university-operated license-plate readers in or near the West Bank will be removed. Noor told Axios he was aware of another university camera farther east on Riverside.

University policy limits use, access and retention

University of Minnesota Police Department Policy 454 says automated license-plate readers may be used only for official law-enforcement purposes. The policy prohibits using the technology for immigration enforcement and requires operators to complete department-approved training before accessing the equipment or data.

Data unrelated to an active criminal investigation must generally be destroyed within 60 days of collection, subject to listed exceptions. The policy also requires password-protected access, records of who accessed data and when, documented reasons for searches, audit trails and biennial audits.

The policy calls for a public log of ALPR use and a publicly accessible list of current and previous locations, including dates, for fixed ALPR or other surveillance devices with ALPR capability. It allows location information to be withheld when it qualifies as security information under state law.

Sharing data with another law-enforcement or prosecutorial agency requires a written request identifying the agency, requester, intended purpose, factual basis and related case, complaint or incident. The request must be authorized by the requesting agency and approved by the university police department’s designated official before it is fulfilled.

Those rules describe permitted uses and data handling, but they do not resolve the transparency questions raised by critics: why the university declined to identify the camera’s exact location, whether the location qualifies for the policy’s security-information exception, what information was collected before removal and how the public can review access to the system.

Broader Minnesota scrutiny adds pressure

The Minneapolis dispute comes amid wider Minnesota scrutiny of Flock cameras. Other cities and law-enforcement agencies have paused, ended or reconsidered use of the technology, citing privacy, cost, compliance and public-trust concerns.

Separate Star Tribune reporting found that law-enforcement agencies connected through partnerships were able to search Flock data from several Twin Cities suburbs for immigration-enforcement purposes. That broader reporting helps explain the concerns raised by Noor and community members, but it does not establish that immigration authorities accessed data from this specific University of Minnesota camera.

Noor said he plans to pursue statewide legislation on Flock cameras when the Minnesota Legislature returns. Several Minneapolis City Council members were also preparing a resolution calling on the university and the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office to terminate their Flock contracts.

For Minneapolis residents and visitors, the immediate change is the university’s planned removal of one West Bank camera, not the end of the campus ALPR program. The broader local question is whether future surveillance decisions will include clearer location notices, stronger public oversight and more visible information about data access.

Sources

• Axios Twin Cities: University of Minnesota to remove recently installed Flock camera on the West Bank
• University of Minnesota Police Department Policy 454: Automated License Plate Readers
• Minnesota Star Tribune: The Minnesota communities rethinking their use of Flock cameras

Look for updates to this story

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