The clock is ticking for Renton to decide whether to renegotiate its Flock contract or jettison the cameras, which have stirred up controversy across the country.
The two-dozen Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) cameras mounted above intersections around Renton have been off since a May 12 City Council vote to pause the technology to address community concerns. Right now, the cameras are also covered in black plastic.
Renton’s current 2-year, nearly $170,000 Flock contract expires Nov. 2.
“We recognize the technology’s public safety value and continue to support it but are awaiting a Council decision before moving forward,” Renton Police Chief Jon Schuldt said In an email to KUOW. “Any new contract would need to be renegotiated to address changes in the [state] law.”
Debate over Flock in Renton has mirrored a growing nationwide backlash against the company driven by critics calling out a range of concerns. They argue the proliferation of the technology represents a dramatic expansion of the surveillance state, infringing on privacy and civil liberties. Documented cases of misuse of Flock for stalking or immigration enforcement are fueling this distrust.
On the other side, law enforcement and public safety advocates see an invaluable crime-fighting tool that helps police quickly zero in on dangerous suspects. Enumclaw Chief of Police Tim Floyd called Flock "one of the greatest resources law enforcement has seen in decades since the discovery of DNA."
Unlike red light or speed cameras that are built to catch people breaking the law, Flock cameras are continuously taking pictures of all cars passing by. They capture information from the back end of each car, including make and model, color, and distinguishing features beyond license plates — like bumper stickers or damage.
AI turns that information into a searchable database. Police can query ALPR systems for specific vehicles, or call up images from a certain camera location and time of day.
In less than a decade, Flock has said it’s grown to have about 120,000 cameras across the country and now scans 20 billion license plates a month.
Meanwhile, “DeFlock” groups are popping up around the country, and incidents of vandalism of Flock cameras are on the rise. Republicans are leading a congressional investigation into Flock. And governors of both parties have banned ALPR cameras from their state roadways.
Close to 80 jurisdictions in Washington state have current Flock contracts. In response to public concerns, some municipalities have dropped Flock over the past year, either pausing cameras indefinitely or terminating their contracts. The list includes: Redmond, Olympia, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Cle Elum, and Whitman County.
Renton Police Department’s Flock cameras were first paused in March, reactivated in April, and paused once again in May after a 4-3 vote by the City Council.
Hotly contested issue
For months, residents have flooded City Council public comment with feedback about Flock.
“Why would we bother investing in a system that is so disproportionately impacting law-abiding citizens with no proof that it makes us safer as well?” Said Brian Hughes, speaking at an Aug. 10 City Council meeting.
Hughes is a member of DeFlock Renton, the local chapter of a nationwide group that maps the location of ALPRs and advocates for their removal.
“Instead, we get told individual crime stories meant to make you angry and upset,” he said.
At the same meeting, a City Council vote on a proposal to turn Renton’s Flock cameras back on ended in a 3-3 tie, because of the absence of Council President Ruth Pérez. Video of the roll call shows confusion about whether Mayor Armondo Pavone would have to cast the tie-breaking vote on the polarizing issue. After a long pause, when the Mayor looked around the room, Councilmember Ed Prince stepped in.
“You know what? I'm going to go back to what I said earlier,” Prince said. “I want us to be able to get the [police] chief the information we want on the contract. So, I'm going to change my vote to Nay.”
The measure failed 4-2. Mayor Pavone and Councilmember Prince did not respond to KUOW’s emailed request for comment.
In an interview, one council member suggested upcoming elections for several council seats, plus the mayor’s re-election bid, weighed on the discussions about the future of Flock.
“ This is a very uncomfortable conversation, and that's reflected on the dais right now,” said Councilmember Carmen Rivera, who voted against turning Flock back on.
Police defend Flock
Enthusiasm for Flock among police leaders has helped the technology spread rapidly.
Tukwila interim Police Chief Eric Lund said his department was an early adopter of Flock cameras, at the beginning of 2023. He believes ALPR is a game changer.
“ I've been doing this job for 30 years and, and a lot of calls you go to as an officer when somebody was victimized, they would just say, ‘I saw a red truck,’ or, ‘I saw a white car leave.’” Lund said. “When you're really stressed out, it's really hard to remember to get the license plate. So…I can search by red truck. Or I can search by red Ford.”
Tukwila is next door to Renton and it’s part of a cluster of jurisdictions in south King County that use Flock, including Kent, Des Moines, Federal Way, Covington, Auburn, Maple Valley, Enumclaw, and Seatac.
(The Renton Police Department declined an interview request, but answered questions by email.)
Lund described his officers responding to a 2025 fatal hit-and-run where police were able to search a nearby Flock camera and find the owner of the vehicle, who lived just a couple blocks away.
“Flock was a pretty major key piece of evidence in that case,” Lund said.
In a community briefing in August, Renton’s chief of police said Flock had helped identify and locate suspects in drive-by shootings, child sex crimes, and homicides, including a triple murder that Chief Jon Schuldt called “an absolute tragedy, probably one of the worst in my 31 years of working in this city.”
Flock will also send police an alert, for example, if the system detects a stolen car, or a vehicle flagged in a Silver or Amber Alert.
Despite testimony like this, in national polling on Flock cameras, the majority of people who have heard about the technology are concerned about its use. That’s true for Democrats, Republicans, and Independents.
Community pushback
On a recent Friday afternoon, Sheryl Friesz stood outside an entrance to the Boeing 737 Max factory in Renton, holding a large vinyl sign, mounted on PVC pipe, that said, “Say No to Flock Cameras!”
Friesz is the founder of 4 a Better Renton, a group that advocates for various public safety and land use issues in the city.
“The amount of people that have driven by in just the 20 minutes I was out here early hitting their horns and yelling out the window, ‘Right on!’ is important,’ Friesz said.
Groups like 4 a Better Renton, DeFlock Renton, and the ACLU say numerous privacy and civil liberties questions are raised by a technology that can allow police to follow someone’s movements.
“We thought that one of the great things about the United States of America is that you are innocent until proven guilty,” Friesz said. “And that's not the case with this technology.”
Friesz pointed to cases of wrongful arrest because of inaccurate Flock alerts. One watchdog group found 36 cases nationwide dating back to 2018. A woman in Florida spent two weeks in jail after a Flock search by police incorrectly tied her Dodge Durango to a hit-and-run.
Tukwila’s police chief Eric Lund said cases like that were the result of “bad policy.”
“We know, and from day one, that the Flock alert alone doesn't give you probable cause to stop a car,” Lund said. “You need to verify on your own. You cannot just use the alert to establish your probable cause for stopping a car.”
There have also been at least 50 cases nationwide of police officers being charged with misusing automated license plate readers technology, often to t