Washington lawmakers want to regulate license plate readers

OLYMPIA [Jake Goldstein-Street]—Washington state lawmakers next year hope to rein in law enforcement’s use of automated license plate readers amid revelations federal immigration authorities are using the data. The readers are mounted everywhere from street poles to police patrol cars. They take pictures of vehicles and use artificial intelligence to analyze the data. Police can […]

The Technical and Ethical Failure of Mass Surveillance in Lynnwood

As someone who takes privacy and the 4th Amendment seriously, I have grave misgivings about the surveillance contract Lynnwood has with Flock. In what LPD claims was a misconfiguration, they exposed this surveillance database to outside agencies, which used it for immigration-related searches. This is contrary to explicit promises made to the Lynnwood City Council. As […]

Lynnwood PD suspends Flock camera system amid concerns over ICE access

LYNNWOOD—The Lynnwood Police Department (LPD) has temporarily paused use of its Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) system, known as Flock Cameras, to address community concerns about data privacy and system access. “Flock cameras have already proven to be an invaluable investigative tool in solving crimes and keeping our community safe,” said Police Chief Cole Langdon. […]

Who is voting for what: Future 42 releases its scorecard for local governments

Future 42 Snohomish County has analyzed key 2024 votes in the Snohomish County Council, and the city councils of Edmond, Everett, and Lynnwood into a custom scorecard for each to help inform residents if local council members are reflecting their values with their votes. Snohomish County Council 2024 Scorecard Below are some of the key votes that […]