{"id":41998,"date":"2026-08-10T08:48:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T13:48:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=41998"},"modified":"2026-08-10T08:48:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T13:48:13","slug":"winona-police-flock-cameras-cut-down-stolen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/winona-police-flock-cameras-cut-down-stolen\/","title":{"rendered":"Winona Police Flock Cameras Cut Down, Stolen"},"content":{"rendered":"

Winona Police Flock Cameras Cut Down, Stolen<\/h2>\n

Winona<\/strong> (trfnews.i234.me<\/a>) \u2014 All eight Flock cameras operated by Winona police were cut down and stolen on Aug. 1.<\/p>\n

Police said the thefts appear coordinated. A patrol officer noticed the cameras had stopped sending alerts for about 24 hours.<\/p>\n

Officers then checked each camera location. They found the devices missing and the poles left behind.<\/p>\n

Two more Flock cameras were also stolen from the Mississippi River Bridge. Those cameras belong to Buffalo County.<\/p>\n

Winona Faces Estimated $24,000 Loss<\/h2>\n

Each Winona camera is valued at about $3,000. The eight stolen city cameras represent an estimated $24,000 loss.<\/p>\n

The Buffalo County cameras are separate from that Winona estimate.<\/p>\n

The Winona cameras stood near major roads entering and leaving the city.<\/p>\n

Two cameras were near Highway 61 and Bundy Boulevard. Two more were near Highway 43 and Homer Road.<\/p>\n

Another pair was near Highway 14 and Knapp Valley Drive. The final pair was near Highway 61 and Highway 14.<\/p>\n

How Flock Cameras Are Used<\/h2>\n

Flock Safety<\/a> cameras are automated license plate readers. They capture plate images and basic details about passing vehicles.<\/p>\n

The system can record a vehicle’s make, model and color. Police use that information during criminal investigations.<\/p>\n

Departments may use the cameras in hit-and-run cases. They can also help locate missing people or wanted vehicles.<\/p>\n

Winona police said camera data belongs to the department. The department says that data is permanently deleted after 30 days.<\/p>\n

License Plate Readers Draw Debate<\/h2>\n

The theft comes amid wider debate over automated license plate readers.<\/p>\n

Civil liberties groups have raised concerns about mass surveillance. Critics also question how plate data may be shared outside local agencies.<\/p>\n

Supporters say the cameras can give investigators fast leads. They also say the system can help officers find vehicles connected to crimes.<\/p>\n

Investigation Remains Active<\/h2>\n

No suspects have been identified in the Winona thefts.<\/p>\n

The investigation remains active. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Winona Police Department.<\/p>\n

Residents can find local government information through the City of Winona website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I’m Adrian Cole reporting for TRF News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 TRF News. All rights reserved.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Winona
Winona Police Flock Cameras Cut Down, Stolen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Eight Winona police Flock cameras were cut from poles and stolen Aug. 1, with losses estimated at $24,000. No suspects are identified.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42792,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscp_schedule_draft_date":"","_wpscp_schedule_republish_date":"","_wpscppro_advance_schedule":false,"_wpscppro_advance_schedule_date":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_bluesky_share_type":"","_mastodon_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[12],"tags":[22575,22576,22573,22572,22570,22574,22571],"class_list":["post-41998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","tag-alpr-cameras","tag-buffalo-county-cameras","tag-flock-safety-cameras","tag-license-plate-reader-theft","tag-winona-flock-cameras","tag-winona-minnesota-crime","tag-winona-police-department","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41998"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41998\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42793,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41998\/revisions\/42793"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}