Vandalism or protest? Flock license plate cameras stolen, dumped in canal in Auburn
Three license plate reader cameras were stolen and later recovered in Auburn over the weekend, police said, after someone disabled the devices and dumped them in a canal.
The cameras are part of a network using Flock technology, which relies on fixed-location cameras that capture license plate data. One camera was located at the intersection of Nevada Street and Nevada Way. The second was at the intersection of Highway 49 and Margaret Mine Road. The third was at the intersection of Highway 49 and Nevada Street.
Auburn Police Sgt. Joe Almeida said early Saturday that the two cameras went offline before his shift began at 7 a.m.
Elise Soviar, a Placer County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson, confirmed on Tuesday that one of their cameras stolen belonged to deputies.
Almeida said video footage helped investigators determine where the cameras were taken after being disabled.
“We don’t have a suspect identified at this time because there’s still videos to pull, but through video, we were able to ascertain a possible dump location,” he said. “It was tossed into a canal off of Nevada Street, and we’re able to recover our two stolen flock cameras.”
The fixed cameras have become targets for vandalism and criticism from residents who oppose the expanding use of surveillance technology.
News outlets elsewhere in California have reported similar incidents in recent months.
In Oakland, The Oaklandside reported that an unknown vandal spray-painted Flock cameras. In La Mesa, FOX 5 San Diego reported that two Flock cameras were destroyed in March, with devices found smashed on a street median and one missing its camera unit.
The cameras are widely used across the capital region. The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office and police departments in Elk Grove and Woodland have installed the devices. In Placer County, departments in Roseville, Rocklin and Lincoln also use the technology.
The Auburn department said it uses the devices to gather objective evidence without compromising individual privacy, according to its transparency website.
“Auburn CA PD utilizes retroactive search to solve crimes after they’ve occurred. Additionally, Auburn CA PD utilizes real time alerting of hotlist vehicles to capture wanted criminals,” the website said.
This story was originally published April 28, 2026 at 1:00 PM.
