Lynnwood votes to cut ties with Flock cameras | FOX 13 Seattle
The short version: Lynnwood's city council voted to end its Flock Safety contract and pull the plate-reader cameras, proving local pressure can actually roll back ALPR surveillance.
Our Take
Credit to FOX 13 Seattle for covering a story that doesn't happen nearly enough: a city council actually reversing course on Flock Safety. Lynnwood joins a short but growing list of towns that looked at the cost, the mission creep, and the lack of real oversight and decided the cameras weren't worth it. That's newsworthy precisely because so many councils rubber-stamp these contracts without ever revisiting them.
What makes these reversals possible is usually the same thing: residents showing up, asking pointed questions about who accesses the data, how long it's retained, and whether the promised crime reductions ever materialized. Flock's sales pitch is built on urgency and vague public-safety language, but once a council starts asking for hard numbers, the case gets a lot shakier. Lynnwood's vote is a reminder that these contracts aren't permanent fixtures — they're policy choices that can be undone.
If you're in a city currently debating a Flock deal, or wondering whether cameras have already gone up near you, check our camera map and use our take-action resources to push your own council toward the same kind of scrutiny Lynnwood just applied.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of FOX 13 Seattle, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.