Flock is on the agenda this week at the Renton, Issaquah, Auburn, and Redmond city councils!

"This past year has exposed just how dangerous automated license plate readers are as Flock Safety’s products have reportedly been used in immigration enforcement, abortion monitoring, repeated incidents of stalking, and experienced major cybersecurity breaches. But Flock is not alone. Motorola Solutions has long partnered with federal immigration enforcement, while Axon has deep ties to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and a history of major ethics violations. Flock has rightfully earned the public’s ire, but these problems are constitutive of the police surveillance industry more broadly.

After learning about the use of these AI cameras in their communities, thousands of people across the country have demanded that automated license plate reader cameras be removed. Thus far, more than 80 communities have either canceled, rejected, or deactivated their cameras in the growing challenge to the surveillance apparatus."

– The Fight Against Surveillance Cameras Is a Struggle for Democracy, Ed Vogel, Truthout

Washington state continues to be one of the leaders in the fight against Flock and other ALPRs ("automated license plate readers", which despite their name actually also allow law enforcement to search for cars based on their color, make, or what bumper stickers are on them). Mount Vernon recently voted to turn off their Flock cameras, and Edmonds voted to cancel their Flock contract, joining Skamania County and cities like Mountlake Terrace, Lynnwood, and Olympia who have canceled or at least paused their Flock usage.

And it's not just happening in Washington. Last week, Los Angeles Police Department announced that they're not renewing their Flock contract yet, citing "serious concerns around civil liberties and civil rights issues, particularly around privacy and the data that is being collected from these cameras.” As Stop LAPD Spying Coalition organizer Grace Zhang said, "This did not happen because the Board of Police Commissioners grew a conscience. This happened because the people organized.”

People organized to press Mount Vernon, Edmonds, Lynnwood, Olympia, Mountake Terrace and Skamania County to take action as well ... and people are organizing across Washington in cities that are still discussing what to do about ALPRs.

This week features at least four more discussions:

• On Monday, the Renton city council might vote on whether to turn their cameras back on. Things have been a bit of a roller-coaster in Renton, where they first turned off their Flock ALPRs earlier this year, briefly turned them back on in April, and then after a public outcry quickly turned them back off again. Last week, 20 Renton residents gave public comment opposing turning the ALPRs back on, but there are rumors that the council is considering doing it anyhow. Southend Indivisible (who's been playing a key role in the organizing, along with Renton Neighbors and Deflock Renton) has an action up to copy the council; there's also an action from Washington Privacy Organizers.
• Also on Monday, Issaquah City Council is discussing a Proposed ALPR Camera Use Policy. Issaquah doesn't currently operate any ALPRs, and decided earlier this year not to accept grant funding for installing ALPRs. One option on the table is a moratorium on ALPR use; another option is to develop a use policy that extends the protections in Washington's recently-passed SB 6002 by early next year, and then potentially reconsider ALPR adoption. My impression is that this is just going to be a discussion, not a vote, but it still should be interesting. No Flock in Issaquah has been an organizing hub here (check out the public comment at the May 11 Committee of the Whole meeting), and after we hear what the council is thinking, they'll probably have some thoughts about the path forward.
• And also on Monday, Indivisible Auburn is organizing public comment at the Auburn City Council meeting!
• On Tuesday, the Redmond city council is voting on whether to cancel their Flock contract. Redmond turned off their Flock cameras last October, in response to strong community pushback, and city legal staff has been investigating the implications of cancelling the contract. At the May 26 "study session", councilmembers generally supported canceling the contract, so hopefully this is just formalizing that decision. Deflock Redmond has played a very important role in the organizing here; they've got an update and a link to an action here.

That's a lot! And looking forward, the Week of Action against ALPRs kicks off on August 16, so stay tuned for more!