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, otherwise known as the Driver Privacy Act will:
• Put limits on how long government agencies can hold onto people’s license plate data;
• Create safeguards for intra-agency data sharing; and
• Prohibit the government from using ALPRs for the following purposes: immigration enforcement; surveiling people seeking critical health services; or surveiling those involved in activities protected by the Constitution, such as protests.
Washingtonians need the Driver Privacy Act to protect against invasive surveillance. Police have used these cameras to track people’s political activities and places of worship. Some within law enforcement have used them to stalk former partners. A recent report by the University of Washington showed that ICE and Border Patrol have used their rampant access to Washington data to track immigrants.
None of these uses make any of our communities safer, and we should be protecting our communities, not bringing them harm.
Law enforcement has a range of tools that aid us in keeping the public safe, and ALPRs aren’t the only way. It’s time we assess all the risks this technology poses before employing it for widespread use.
Washingtonians must reach out to lawmakers and demand that they pass SB 6002 with as strict of a limit as possible on the amount of time agencies can retain ALPR data to lessen the chance of this data falling into the wrong hands.
We have a duty to protect our communities. We can do so without violating people’s privacy rights.
Senate Bill 6002 passed the Senate on Feb. 4 and this week was recommended do pass by a majority of the House Civil Rights and Judiciary Committee.
Michael Burbank is a former police sargeant and vice president for law enforcement initiatives, at the Center for Policing Equity.
