The Rise and Fall of Flock Cameras in Redmond
The Automatic License Plate Reader system that only lasted four months in the city
A Flock camera, art by Jason Miller for Redmond Moments.
December 17 2025,
Updated January 25, 2026
By Madeline Virginia
This article was originally published in the Winter 2025/26 print edition of Redmond Moments.
Flock Safety has made a name for itself across America, for better or worse. The company specializes in a newer kind of technology used by law enforcement to track crime. The concept is relatively simple: the cameras are placed in high-traffic areas of a city, they record every license plate that passes by, and then store the information in a national database.
In August, Redmond deployed 24 Flock cameras as part of a police technology package originally passed by city council. The package included funding for drones, body cams, a mobile command center, and the Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs).
Meanwhile across the country, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids began.
On October 21, a Redmond City Council Public Safety meeting convened after a major study by the University of Washington Center for Human Rights found that in nearby cities, Flock camera data has been accessed by federal agencies as a tool in immigration enforcement.
During the meeting, city council members asked Redmond Police Darrell Chief Lowe about Redmond’s ALPR system, and what information might be used by immigration enforcement. Chief Lowe explained that the police department had opted-out of data sharing with the national network. The council scheduled a follow-up meeting by the month’s end when more information about Flock cameras would be presented by RPD.
Before that follow-up meeting could happen, ICE arrived in Redmond.
On November 3rd, video and photos of three ICE arrests in Redmond quickly spread on social media. The arrests, confirmed by Redmond Moments, took place at the Bear Creek Shopping Center, the Home Depot, and on Avondale Rd./NE Union Hill Rd.
Want a visual? Scroll to the bottom of this article to view a timeline of events.
The same day as the arrests, part of a regularly scheduled City Council Business meeting was dedicated to a discussion about the presence of ICE in the city. Council presented questions to Chief Lowe, who assured the council that no data was accessed by the federal agency.
Council members echoed the sentiments of multiple public comments made during the meeting, suggesting that even the strongest settings may not be able to prevent data breaches, or subpoenas from the federal government.
After some discussion with City Attorney Rebecca Mueller, the Council made a formal recommendation to Mayor Angela Birney and Chief Lowe to suspend Redmond’s Flock cameras as soon as possible. In a statement on November 4, RPD confirmed they had manually disabled the camera system.
On November 12, Redmond City Council unanimously voted to suspend the city’s contract with Flock Safety. More cities, like Olympia, are following suit with Redmond and moving to disable their Flock camera systems as well.
Update January 25, 2026:
After ICE made more arrests in Redmond, Washington on January 11, the Redmond Police Department confirmed with Redmond Moments that Flock camera data had not been used, stating, “The cameras have been deactivated and are inaccessible at this time and no outside agency has requested access.”
While the cameras remain disabled, Redmond City Council now must work through the logistics of ending the contract with Flock Safety. This may prove difficult, as the City accepted grant money to help fund the installation and use of ALPRs in the city.
Redmond ALPR Funding Sources:
$94,968.30 grant award from the Department of Commerce
$44,100.00 grant award from the Washington Auto Theft Prevention Authority
$7,500 from the General Fund
A timeline of events regarding Flock Cameras in Redmond, WA.
