Lynnwood, WA City Council Terminates Flock Safety License Plate Reader Contract Over Immigration Surveillance Concerns

Policy ID

LYN-LA-2026-2-23

Local Response

Lynnwood,

Legislative Action

Automatic License Plate Reader Data, Data Privacy, Surveillance

Short Description

The Lynnwood City Council voted unanimously to terminate its two-year, roughly $171,000 contract with Flock Safety and remove 25 automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras after concerns that the surveillance network was being accessed for federal immigration enforcement. A University of Washington Center for Human Rights report found that out-of-state agencies had run searches of Lynnwood’s ALPR data, including queries tied to immigration enforcement, through Flock’s nationwide lookup feature. Lynnwood became the first city in Washington to cancel an active Flock contract.

Date Adopted

02/23/2026

Updates

Lynnwood was the first city in Washington to terminate a Flock contract after activating its cameras. Other jurisdictions pulled back as well: Mountlake Terrace canceled its contract in December 2025 before installing any cameras; Redmond and Olympia paused their programs indefinitely; and Skamania County disabled its cameras, suspending the program until its contract expires at year’s end while leaving the infrastructure installed. The state legislature also took up Senate Bill 6002 to set statewide rules limiting ALPR use for immigration enforcement.