05/04/2026
WTF⁉️ (What the Flock)
We recently found ourselves at the center of attention around Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR’s).
This technology has seemed to have garnished some new attention as of recently with a system called Flock.
Flock LPRs are built to capture vehicle details. They do not collect personal information.
Flock LPRs are not only a law enforcement tool, they can be purchased and used by neighborhoods, businesses and schools to prevent crime, protect property, and get faster answers when incidents happen.
License plate reading technology has been around since 1976- yes, the same year people were still arguing over disco outfits, watching TV in wood-paneled living rooms, and thinking a pet rock was a reasonable purchase.
Someone online has taken it upon themselves to “spread the word” if you will, and to “educate” everyone on what these are.
However, not everything you read on the internet is true—we actually just learned this ourselves the other day in an online course. We were genuinely shocked… mostly because we read it online.
Some of the posts did get our attention however, like the one titled “Look out Village of Holmen here we come!” That was an attention grabber.
We’re still not sure who exactly is “coming,” but for the record, the speed limit on Holmen Drive did drop to 35 mph a few years ago… so everyone should have plenty of time to arrive safely.
Someone even created a website just for the Holmen Flock cameras where it asks you to “Enter your home address and your destination” to see how many times the Holmen PD Flock cameras log you.
That’s a creepy request- we don’t even want to know that about you- and would highly suggest you do not enter in your home address to a sketchy website that is asking to track your route…
But we couldn’t help ourselves and played along.
We entered our PD address and mapped out our daily run to Dunkin’ Donuts. The result? The website didn’t work like it was supposed to. Seems like AI was used to build it—and now we’re just hoping we didn’t accidentally sign up for the “Jelly of the Month Club” and a lifetime supply of disappointment.
In all seriousness, we believe protecting those who live in or visit the greatest community in Wisconsin matters more than “likes” and shares on a Facebook post.
This is serious work involving serious crimes.
We also noticed posts claiming that Flock cameras do not actually help solve crimes- which warrants careful examination and fact-based discussion- not theory or opinion.
In fact, since implementing them in 2024, we’ve tracked our success stories—recognizing early on they would be a game changer for public safety and the protection of our most vulnerable.
We didn’t plan on sharing these success stories publicly, but we’ve been accused of not being transparent and “Satan’s Workers” (that was odd…)
So, for your reading pleasure, below is a list of some, not all, of the success stories from the use of the Flock camera system in Holmen.
As you read through them, you will see some are not crimes, some involve assistance to individuals in need, and others reflect serious criminal offenses that directly impact public safety.
The success stories below cover things such as the adult male who said inappropriate things to a 16-year-old girl at a local store and made physical advances on her…
Or, the suspect who Galesville PD had felony charges on for false imprisonment, burglary, disorderly conduct and bail jumping after he assaulted his pregnant significant other, and was later located with the use of Flock in the Village of Holmen and arrested.
Or, the feel-good story of the elderly female who was diagnosed with dementia the day prior and her family called in that she was driving around and lost. With the help of the Flock cameras, from the time of the call until contact was made with the lost driver was 16 minutes. The family was very thankful for our quick response in locating their mother and they were able to arrive on scene and bring her home.
Both of these criminal offenders noted above were arrested for their actions, thanks in part to the use of ALPR technology. Without it, they may have remained unidentified or held unaccountable and continued to victimize others.
The family of the dementia patient may have never seen their mother again.
We don’t tolerate criminal behavior in Holmen. We’ve been recognized as one of the safest communities in Wisconsin, and we intend to keep it that way.
People aren’t moving here by accident—homes are going up almost daily because people see Holmen as a safe place to live, work, and raise a family.
If you want a community where safety actually comes first, and where the police take action and hold people accountable when crimes happen to residents or visitors, then you’re in the right place.
If you’re thinking about bringing crime into Holmen, think again. There are plenty of places that tolerate that behavior. Holmen isn’t one of them.
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Holmen PD Flock Success Stories
(This is not an exhaustive list of all success stories)
Case #: 70-25-05996
Type: Homicide
Success: Homicide suspect told investigators his vehicle was never in Wisconsin. However, Flock showed it in Wisconsin on the night of the murder.
Case #: 70-26-01435
Type: Exposure
Success: Officers responded to an assisted living/memory care center for a report of an indecent exposure call. The complainant, an employee at the facility, reported the male suspect had been pleasuring himself in the parking lot and had a description of the vehicle but did not have a license plate. This was the second time this male suspect had done this according to the female victim. An officer entered the vehicle description into Flock and was able to get the license plate for the suspect’s vehicle. Officers later found the suspect, where he admitted to his indecent exposure. Without the use of Flock, it might have been difficult to identify a suspect.
Case #: 70-25-03692
Type: Alzheimer’s Patient
Success: A BOLO was sent out looking for a 79-year old male who had Alzheimer’s and left in a gold in color Ford Ranger. A license plate was also given. Flock was searched and the male was located entering the Village of Holmen and exiting. HPD officers located his vehicle entering again on US Highway 53. The male was very confused and did not know where he was.
Case #: 70-24-08914
Type: Stolen Vehicle Recovered
Success: On Tuesday, July 23, 2024 at about 7am, officers received a Flock Alert for a stolen vehicle in Onalaska. About 20 min later, officers received another Flock Alert for the same stolen vehicle entering the Village of Holmen, on Holmen Drive. The vehicle was stopped and the suspect arrested without incident.
Case #: 70-24-05617
Type: Lost Property
Success: A purse was found in the street. The owner of the purse was located using the Flock system. As a result, $1,132.00 in cash plus other valuable personal property to include ID, credit/debit card, insurance info, etc., was returned to the owner.
Case #: 70-24-05443
Type: Hit and Run
Success: Flock provided photos of a 2-hour window of when the damage happened which matched the hit and run time. The driver stated the damage happened months prior. Without Flock we would have had no way to prove otherwise.
Case #: 70-24-05895
Type: ATL
Success: ATL for Onalaska PD for a possible domestic between two parties. The caller stated the male and female were arguing and the female had a black eye. The vehicle was added to Flock and HPD received a hit notification and located the vehicle a short time later. Onalaska was able to investigate the domestic due to this.
Case #: 70-24-06293
Type: ATL
Success: Flock hit on plate notifying that the registered own had a warrant. Subject was arrested for the warrant, Operating with a Restricted Controlled Substance in their system, and Operating after Revocation.
Case #: 70-24-06878
Type: ATL
Success: We received a tip from Houston County, MN. The plate associated with the tip was placed into Flock and traffic stop was conducted. Two arrests were made for three felony charges and three misdemeanor charges.
Case #: 70-24-06920
Type: ATL
Success: A warrant tip was sent from Monroe County and a license plate for the party was located. The vehicle hit on Flock and the vehicle was located. As a result, the party was arrested on a felony warrant.
Case #: 70-24-13742:
Type: Hit and Run
Success: Flock was used in this case to hold a hit and run suspect accountable.
Case #: 70-26-01091
Type: Damage to Property
Success: Amazon van had an item thrown at its window and driver wished to pursue charges. Officer obtained a still shot of the suspect vehicle from the Amazon van's dash camera. Officer was not able to get the plate on the suspect vehicle from the footage/photo. The investigating officer searched the Village of Holmen flock cameras for the suspect vehicle’s make/model. The suspect truck had a unique brush guard on the front of it, and the officer located a vehicle matching this description with the same brush guard shortly before the incident time coming into the Village. The officer ran the plate and contacted the owner, and the officer got a confession out of this individual as being the suspect in the incident and he was cited.
Case #: 70-26-02407
Type: Theft
Success: Was reported a male had taken the keys to a vehicle from a female and stole it while in the Village of Holmen. He began driving the vehicle which was registered to the victim and was captured on Flock leaving Holmen. An additional Flock search was run, and the same vehicle hit on Flock coming back into Holmen. The vehicle was recovered and turned over to the victim. The victim did not wish to pursue charges, and the male suspect was cited for driving without a license.
Case #: 70-26-03103
Type: Exposure
Success: Officers took a call at Festival Foods in Holmen for a report of a male who was exposing himself. Responding officers made contact with three victims, one aged 20, one 19 and the other 15. They reported a male watching them from his vehicle while they were in the lot. The male eventually opened his car door, showing he was naked from the waist down. The victims reported that while this occurred, the male suspect was touching himself and was staring at them. The male’s p***s was seen and the 15-year-old reported seeing the male ma********ng. One of the victims followed the vehicle as it left the lot to try and obtain a license plate on it. Another victim recorded video of the vehicle going through the lot, but the license plate was not clearly visible due to image quality. However, it was described as a dark blue in color Pontiac. Officers were able to get some idea of the what the number and letter combination may be on the plate, but after several attempts they were unable to come up with a valid registration. One of the investigating officers later located a Wisconsin plate on Flock which was a possible match to the suspect’s vehicle. The search indicated the vehicle was traveling northbound on Holmen Drive near Cole Ct. at 11:26pm on 3/25/2026. It was observed the vehicle was a Pontiac. A completed a records check of the plate was conducted which showed the registered owner was a 64-year-old male who lived in Holmen, not far from Festival Foods. This vehicle was later found parked in the driveway of the residence it was registered to and matched the description of the vehicle in the video recorded by one of the victims. Officers knocked on the door of the residence multiple times and did not receive an answer. One officer shined his flashlight near the ground in front of a reclining chair, and observed a male who matched the physical description of the suspect according to his license return. Officers announced themselves as police officers multiple times and shined their flashlights on the suspect’s head through the window. The suspect did not move, but one officer observed the male was breathing and moving his hands and head, but would not turn and face the window. One officer further noted that the suspect was laying against a small table placed in front of the window and appeared to be attempting to hide himself from law enforcement. Video footage from a neighboring business was reviewed the next day and what was observed matched up with the accounts given by the victims. As a result, this sexual offender was arrested by officers for the following offenses:
- 948.10(1)(A) EXPOSING GE****LS TO CHILD/PUBIC AREA/INTIMATE PARTS TO A CHILD
- 944.20(1)(B) LEWD, LASCIVIOUS BEHAVIOR-EXPOSURE
- 947.01(1) DISORDERLY CONDUCT
Case #: 70-26-03505
Type: Suspicious
Success: Flock was used to help verify the location of a suspect involved in an incident at the Dollar Tree in Holmen on 4/7/26. Suspect was allegedly following a 16-year-old female around the store, touching her, rubbing her shoulders and hair, and making inappropriate comments, "You could be my sugar mama." Suspect charged with Disorderly Conduct and transported to jail.
Case #: 70-26-04052
Type: Welfare
Success: On 4/24/2026, at 7:18p.m., the Onalaska Police Department received a call from a female stating she believed her mother was driving around in a white Subaru and was lost. The caller said her mother left for Chick-Fil-A and Walgreens around 4:00pm and she still had not returned home. An Onalaska PD officer spoke with the caller on the phone and found out her mother did not have a phone, and was diagnosed with dementia the day prior. Looking at recent calls, LE were able to find the license plate for the white Subaru was operating. An Onalaska PD officer ran the plate through Flock and saw the vehicle hit at 6:25 pm and 6:56pm on Highway 35 and County Road YY in Buffalo County. It also showed the vehicle hit at 7:04pm on Highway 35 at County Road P, EB in Trempealeau County. At that time, LE was hoping the vehicle was heading back to La Crosse County, and shortly after refreshed Flock, and the vehicle hit again at 7:27pm at County Road MH and Briggs Road in Holmen. Onalaska PD let Holmen PD know the vehicle description, plate, and that the driver was most likely lost, not knowing how to get home. Holmen PD was able to locate the vehicle on McHugh Road heading back north onto Highway 53. Holmen PD was able to get the vehicle stopped on Highway 53 and contact was made with the female at 7:34pm. The driver said she went to Walgreens in Onalaska and got lost heading to Chick-Fil-A. She remembered heading up to Buffalo City, and was pointed back the correct direction by someone. With the help of the Flock cameras, from the time of the call until contact was made with the lost driver was 16 minutes. It’s unknown where the female would be at this time without the Flock cameras as she got back onto northbound 53 before she was stopped. The family was very thankful for our quick response in locating their mother and they were able to arrive on scene and bring her home.
Case #: 70-26-04223
Type: ATL
Success: On April 29, 2026 a BOLO message was sent out advising that Galesville PD had felony charges on a male for strangulation, battery, disorderly conduct and burglary. A vehicle plate was given with the BOLO that the suspect was believed to be operating. This plate was added to Flock and on April 30th, HPD officers received a Flock alert of the vehicle being in Holmen. Officers located the vehicle and took the suspect wanted on the charges into custody. The suspect was turned him over to Galesville PD.
