Comment: Flock cameras need rules to protect public’s privacy
Comment: Flock cameras need rules to protect public’s privacy
https://www.heraldnet.com/2026/02/28/comment-flock-cameras-need-rules-to-protect-publics-privacy/
Publish Date: 2026-02-28 04:53:00
Source Domain: www.heraldnet.com
Comment: Flock cameras need rules to protect public’s privacy
Published 1:30 am Saturday, February 28, 2026
By Michael Burbank / For The Herald
As a retired police sergeant with 21 years in law enforcement, I’ve witnessed how the right technology can save lives. I welcome innovation that genuinely protects our communities. But when a tool promises safety while threatening the very freedoms we’re sworn to protect, we have an obligation to speak up.
Automated license plate readers (ALPRs) are that tool.
These cameras — which you may have heard of as “Flock cameras” — now blanket Washington state communities, silently photographing the license plate of every vehicle that passes. As of last year, at least 80 Washington cities, six counties, and three tribes used Flock. While Seattle and Tacoma use Axon ALPRs, another big name in the industry. ALPRs scan countless vehicles monthly, building a detailed map of where residents work, worship, seek medical care and spend their private lives. The data can be stored indefinitely and shared across agencies with virtually no oversight.
ALPRs can be useful to aid investigations such as missing persons cases and kidnappings. But overall, their use by state agencies is unregulated in Washington, raising risks for uses that go well beyond the intended purpose of these cameras.
Out-of-state agencies can access and already have accessed ALPR data from departments, allowing these agencies — including those in the federal government — access to people’s everyday movements and routines. This access has made the data ripe for abuse. Bad actors have used ALPRs to do everything from searching for and targeting vulnerable groups to stalking ex-girlfriends.
State lawmakers in Olympia are debating a bill that will regulate ALPRs, and they should pass it this session. Senate Bill 6002,…
