Lynnwood becomes one of the 1st in the state to terminate Flock contract
HeraldNet.com • • general
Key Points:
- Lynnwood City Council voted unanimously to terminate its contract with Flock Safety, an automated license plate reader company, due to privacy concerns and public pressure after reports of out-of-state agencies accessing the city's data for immigration enforcement.
- The contract, approved in January 2025 for $171,000 and funded mostly by a state grant, was paused after it was discovered that Flock’s nationwide lookup feature allowed over 100,000 out-of-state searches in nine days, including searches related to immigration enforcement.
- Lynnwood is the first city in Washington to cancel an active Flock Safety contract, while other cities have paused or canceled their programs; the police chief noted the technology is useful but expressed willingness to resume use only if new state
