Nov. 3, 2025 — Redmond, Washington, City Council unanimously recommended suspending operations of the city’s Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) program using Flock Safety cameras, prompting the Redmond Police Department to immediately halt access to the system of 24 cameras due to privacy concerns and fears of data access by federal agencies like U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The recommendation followed community backlash after a University of Washington Center for Human Rights report revealed ICE accessed ALPR data from 31 Washington police agencies, raising worries that Flock could share Redmond’s data via subpoena despite local safeguards. The council formally approved the suspension by a 5-0 vote on November 12, pending further review, as noted on the city’s official program page.
Redmond Police Department announced the pause on Instagram, stating:
Redmond Police Department Suspends Use of ALPR System Following a recommendation from City Council on November 3, 2025, the Redmond Police Department (RPD) has suspended operation of its Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) system, also known as the Flock cameras. Access to the system has been disabled while the Council conducts a further review. This decision was not due to any misuse by RPD, but rather reflects broader community concerns about how similar technologies have been used elsewhere. RPD remains committed to implementing technology that is transparent, responsibly managed, and designed to enhance both public safety and community trust.
City officials emphasized that Redmond does not cooperate with immigration enforcement and never shares ALPR data with ICE. Council President Vanessa Kritzer told KING 5, “We have not taken a formal vote but we have heard feedback from the entire council, that we’d like to turn the cameras off until we have a chance to have a discussion.”
Councilmember Angie Nuevacamina added that while local protocols prevent misuse, Flock’s access to data poses a small risk if subpoenaed.
The suspension mirrors actions in other Washington cities. Olympia halted its Flock pilot in December 2025 over data privacy issues, obscuring lenses and disabling collection, as reported by KOMO News. Lynnwood also shut off cameras around the same time.
As of late November 2025, Redmond’s cameras remained paused amid ongoing debates, with a Committee of the Whole discussion scheduled for November 18. Statewide, lawmakers proposed bills to regulate ALPR data, limiting access and requiring deletions, according to FOX 13 Seattle.
