Jessica Heger is a Minnesota law enforcement officer who has been a special agent with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension since January 2025. She began her career in 2000 as a 911 dispatcher for the Carver County Sheriff's Office and later served with the Hopkins Police Department and the Minnesota Commerce Fraud Bureau. She is a 2026 candidate for Carver County sheriff.
Case
Networked automated license-plate cameras can assemble searchable records of vehicle movements. Candidates and officials disagree over whether to ban the systems, keep them with limits, or defend them as investigative tools. This tracker separates outright bans from narrower restrictions.
Role at the time: Candidate for Carver County, Minnesota, sheriff
Statement summary
Jessica Heger said she would not pursue automated license plate readers at this time but remains open to them as privacy protections and accountability improve. She said any future use would need community input, a shown public safety benefit and defined data policies.
“At this time, I would not pursue automated license plate readers. Public safety benefits must be weighed against the cost, privacy concerns, data retention, and appropriate oversight. I am not opposed to technology, and remain open to considering it as technology evolves and privacy protections and accountability improve. Any future consideration will include community input and show a public safety benefit, defined policies for data access and retention, responsible use of taxpayer dollars and appropriate oversight. Public safety and public trust are equally important.”
The reference point is whether networked license-plate reader systems such as Flock should exist and be used. Heger said she would not pursue license plate readers at this time but remains open to them as privacy protections and accountability improve, and she listed conditions for any future use. That is present opposition tied to conditions, which fits Mixed or conditional rather than Condemned.
Statement dates: September 24, 2026
Statement dates: September 24, 2026
Statement dates: September 24, 2026
Statement dates: September 24, 2026
