Jan. 31, 2026 – Redmond, Wash. – Redmond has joined a growing list of U.S. cities scaling back or discontinuing the use of Flock Safety license-plate reader cameras amid concerns over privacy, data sharing, and oversight.
Redmond, along with Lynnwood in Washington and cities such as Evanston and Oak Park, Illinois, Ferndale, Michigan, and Hillsborough, North Carolina, has shut down, canceled, or rejected Flock Safety camera programs.
The decisions reportedly follow concerns about how data collected by the cameras is accessed, stored, and shared.
Following this issue, a Facebook post was shared by resident Joseph DePice, who stated that some cities discovered data collected by Flock Safety cameras had been shared with federal agencies without proper authorization.
Others cited conflicts with state privacy laws, legal concerns, costs, and public opposition as reasons for reevaluating the technology.
Flock Safety, founded in 2017 and based in Atlanta, operates license-plate reader cameras and other surveillance tools in more than 4,000 cities nationwide, the post states.
The company’s systems are described as capturing more than license plates, including vehicle make, color, and other identifying features, and can issue real-time alerts linked to law enforcement databases.
The post notes that while police agencies have said the cameras can assist in investigations, cities are increasingly questioning the balance between public safety benefits and privacy risks.
In the pots, the concerns cited include who can access the data, how long it is retained, whether it can be shared outside local jurisdictions, and the accuracy of the alerts.
