Eden Prairie Local News reported on September 4, 2026 that the Eden Prairie Police Department will not share its license plate reader data unless it gets a criminal case number and a reason for the request. Police Chief Matt Sackett said the department does not proactively share data with any entity.
Does Eden Prairie share its plate reader data?
Not by default. Sackett said the department uses Motorola cameras, not Flock cameras, and that it chose Motorola in part because it could control what gets shared. "We liked the ability to dial in our data and know that we're not proactively sharing," he said.
Motorola lets each agency decide whether its data is shared automatically, Sackett said. The department's policy is written into its agreement with the company.
Can federal agencies get Eden Prairie plate reader data?
Sackett said the same rule applies to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security. The department confirmed that federal agencies do not have direct access to its data.
Sackett said a request would need an active criminal investigation behind it. "If it was just a civil immigration type thing that they were looking for, we would not be sharing that information," he said.
Eden Prairie Local News corrected an earlier version of its story, which said the department requires a criminal warrant to share data. The department requires a case number and a justification.
How long does Eden Prairie keep plate reads?
Sackett said the system keeps collected data for 60 days. After that it is deleted unless it is tied to a criminal investigation. The Minnesota Data Practices Office audits the system every other year. Audit logs still show the date and time of each read and the search history, though the plate numbers themselves are deleted.
Eden Prairie Local News does not say how many cameras the city operates or where they are. Sackett said the department does not publicly disclose camera locations to prevent vandalism, and that several cameras in the city have been damaged. The department has cameras around the city and on police cars, and can move them as needed.
To explain how the system works, Sackett said the cameras photograph plates and read the characters. The plate numbers are compared with a database when police look for stolen vehicles, missing or endangered people, or someone wanted for a serious crime. A match alerts dispatch, which checks the number before deciding whether a stop is needed. The cameras do not use facial recognition, Sackett said. For more on the technology, see how plate readers work.
What changes for drivers in Eden Prairie?
The policy covers the city's own cameras. Some businesses, including Walmart, have plate readers in their parking lots, and Eden Prairie Local News reports that the city does not operate those. Eden Prairie Local News does not say how those businesses store or share their data, or how long they keep it. Cameras run by a neighboring city, the county or the state are not covered by this policy either.
Sackett's figures for August 2023 through August 2026 were:
- 68 stolen vehicles recovered, with an estimated total value of more than $1 million
- 35 arrests
- 5 missing people found in Eden Prairie
Mayor Ron Case said the city would reevaluate whether to keep using the cameras if it found misuse of the data. He said the council has not seen any.
Residents who want to see what is mapped nearby can check the camera map. Sackett said the department plans to update its website page on the cameras in the coming weeks.