Washington Terrace council approves trial deployment of Flock license-plate cameras amid privacy concerns

At a regular Washington Terrace City Council meeting, the council approved a trial deployment of three additional Flock license-plate-reader (LPR) cameras after a 4–1 vote.

The measure, moved by a council member identified in the record as Mike and seconded by another council member, authorizes a time-limited trial installation of the cameras on city ingress and egress routes. City staff said Flock agreed to waive the reported $1,900-per-camera setup fee for the trial; if the city proceeds beyond the trial, staff said ongoing service costs are about $3,000 per camera per year and relocation fees were estimated in the meeting at roughly $150–$750 depending on infrastructure.

Why it matters: supporters said LPR systems help locate suspects, recover stolen vehicles and find missing vulnerable adults; opponents and a public commenter said networked cameras raise privacy and security risks and pointed to investigations that found some camera feeds exposed on the internet.

During public comment, Casey Sanders urged the council to “slow down, gather more public input, and fully evaluate long-term risk before moving forward,” citing a December investigation that found multiple exposed camera feeds and a cited case of mistaken identification that led to wrongful police action. In the council debate, one councilmember referenced a Business Insider report headlined "Why Cities Are Getting Rid of Their Flock Cameras," and warned that independent testing shows LPR misreads can occur and sometimes produce dangerous outcomes when errors lead to law-enforcement action.

City staff told the council the proposed city cameras would be mounted to capture vehicle license plates, vehicle description features and would not be used for facial recognition. Staff emphasized that the city will set the operational parameters, work with the sheriff’s office and the crime center, require case numbers for access, and rely on auditing protocols to detect and address misuse.

A councilmember told the body that Washington Terrace already has three Flock cameras that were installed in prior years and recounted instances where those cameras aided investigations. Another council member asserted that Flock executives had given federal agents access to data without notifying contracting cities; that allegation was stated during debate and council members asked for references and whether similar access had occurred locally. The meeting record contains no documentary confirmation of such data-sharing during the session; staff said they would follow up.

The motion passed with four ayes and one opposed. Council members did not set an immediate permanent contract during the meeting; staff said the trial will be used to evaluate accuracy, auditing, and operational protocols before any long-term procurement. The council then moved on to other business and adjourned.

What to watch next: staff said the city will work with the sheriff’s office and partner agencies to establish protocols and auditing for the trial; council members requested follow-up information and references related to the data‑sharing allegation.