Anoka County
County record. Includes every city and agency within Anoka County.
Technology presence
What these categories mean
- ALPR
- Automated license plate readers (ALPR): camera systems that automatically capture, read, and log vehicle license plates with location and time, producing a searchable record of vehicle movements.
- Fixed cameras & RTCC
- Agency-operated fixed video cameras and the real-time crime centers (RTCC) that aggregate live and recorded feeds for monitoring. Extends the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Atlas, which enumerates real-time crime centers and camera registries but not standalone fixed-camera estates.
- Face recognition
- Software that matches faces in images or video against a reference database to identify or verify individuals.
- Drones / UAS
- Uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), commonly called drones, operated by an agency for overhead observation, imaging, or sensing.
- Gunshot detection
- Networks of acoustic sensors that detect and locate suspected gunfire and alert an agency.
- Body-worn & dashcam
- Officer body-worn and in-vehicle dashboard cameras that record encounters; public access to the footage is frequently restricted.
- Doorbell & camera registry
- Programs that give an agency access to privately owned camera footage: doorbell-camera partnerships, citizen camera registries, and private-camera integration platforms.
- Cell-site simulators
- Devices that mimic cell towers to locate or identify nearby mobile phones. They are often called Stingrays, or IMSI catchers after the international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) number that identifies each phone on a network. Adjacent: communications surveillance outside the visual/sensor core.
- Predictive policing
- Software that forecasts where crime may occur or who may be involved, to direct policing. Adjacent: analytics rather than a sensing deployment.
- Social-media monitoring
- Tools that collect and analyze public social-media activity for an agency. Adjacent: open-source/communications monitoring outside the visual/sensor core.
The record, by agency
Blaine Police Department
The Blaine Police Department uses automated license plate readers.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): MN Department of Public Safety
The Blaine Police Department operated drones as of 2023.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Minnesota Department of Public Safety
The Blaine Police Department has 96 Axon body-worn cameras, according to a 2024 audit.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): City of Blaine - Blaine Police DepartmentLynn Lembcke ConsultingCity of Blaine - Blaine Police DepartmentLynn Lembcke Consulting
The Blaine Police Department maintains a voluntary registry of private and personal surveillance cameras.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): City of Blaine
Coon Rapids Police Department
The Coon Rapids Police Department uses automated license plate readers.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): MN Department of Public Safety
The Coon Rapids Police Department spent $7000 on its unmanned aerial vehicle program in 2023 and flew a drone 118 times without a warrant that year.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Minnesota Department of Public SafetyMinnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension
The Coon Rapids Police Department uses Motorola body-worn cameras, according to a 2024 audit.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): City of Coon Rapids - Coon Rapids Police DepartmentLocal Government Information Systems (LOGIS)Coon Rapids Police Department
The Coon Rapids Police Department maintains a voluntary registry of private and personal surveillance cameras.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): City of Coon Rapids
Fridley Police Department
The Fridley Police Department uses automated license plate readers.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): MN Department of Public Safety
The Fridley Police Department flew an unmanned aerial vehicle without a warrant at least four times in 2023.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Minnesota Department of Public SafetyMinnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension
The Fridley Police Department adopted Visual Labs smartphone-based body-worn cameras in 2018. FPD received a federal grant to pay for the program.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): U.S Department of JusticeFridley Police Department
Anoka Police Department
The Anoka Police Department uses Flock Safety automated license plate readers.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Flock Safety
The Anoka Police Department has 37 Panasonic body-worn cameras, according to a 2023 audit.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): City of Anoka - Anoka Police DepartmentLynn Lembcke Consulting
Ramsey Police Department
The Ramsey Police Department uses Axon body-worn cameras.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Ramsey Police DepartmentRamsey Police & Fire's Facebook Page
Columbia Heights Police Department
The Columbia Heights Police Department uses Flock Safety automated license plate readers.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Pine County Sheriff's Office
The Columbia Heights Police Department spent $3000 on its unmanned aerial vehicle program in 2023 and flew a drone 25 times without a warrant that year.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Minnesota Department of Public SafetyMinnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension
The Columbia Heights Police Department has 36 Axon body-worn cameras, according to a 2023 audit.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): City of Columbia Heights - Columbia Heights Police DepartmentLynn Lembcke ConsultingCity of Columbia Heights - Columbia Heights Police DepartmentOffice of the State AuditorOffice of the State Auditor
Centennial Lakes Police Department
The Centennial Lakes Police Department uses body-worn cameras, according to a 2019 audit.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Computer Integration Technologies, Inc.Minn. Legislature - Legislative Commission on Data PracticesCentennial Lakes Police Department
Anoka County Sheriff's Office
The Anoka County Sheriff's Office spent over $13,337 on drones in 2023.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Minnesota Department of Public SafetyMinnesota Bureau of Criminal ApprehensionCenter for the Study of the Drone at Bard College
As of April 2024, the Anoka County Sheriff's Office operates two Flock Safety automated license plate readers. The agency stores ALPR data for 30 days.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Flock SafetyThe News & ObserverThe News & Observer
The Anoka County Sheriff's Office has 130 Axon body-worn cameras, according to a 2023 audit.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Anoka County - Anoka County SheriffLynn Lembcke ConsultingMinn. Legislature - Legislative Commission on Data PracticesAnoka County - Anoka County SheriffLynn Lembcke ConsultingMinn. Legislature - Legislative Commission on Data Practices
The Anoka County Sheriff's Office maintains a voluntary registry of private and personal surveillance cameras.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Anoka County Sheriff's Office
Lino Lakes Department of Public Safety
The Lino Lakes Department of Public Safety operated drones as of 2023.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Minnesota Department of Public Safety
St. Francis Police Department
The St. Francis Police Department operated drones as of 2023.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Minnesota Department of Public Safety
Saint Francis Police Department
The St. Francis Police Department has 15 Panasonic body-worn cameras, according to a 2024 audit.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): City of St. Francis - St. Francis Police DepartmentLynn Lembcke Consulting
Lino Lakes Police Department
The Lino Lakes Police Department has 27 Panasonic body-worn cameras, according to a 2022 audit.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Lynn Lembcke ConsultingLino Lakes Police DepartmentLynn Lembcke ConsultingMinn. Legislature - Legislative Commission on Data Practices
Source: EFF Atlas of Surveillance (Electronic Frontier Foundation & University of Nevada, Reno — Reynolds School of Journalism) · CC BY 4.0 · retrieved July 2026