Lynnwood City Council votes to end Flock Safety camera contract

Our Take

Credit to KING 5 Seattle for covering a story that doesn't happen nearly often enough: a city council actually reversing course on ALPR surveillance after the cameras were already up and running. Most of these fights happen before a contract is signed. Lynnwood shows what's possible after, when residents keep showing up and keep asking who has access to their movements and why.

Twenty-five cameras isn't a huge network by Flock's standards, but the precedent matters more than the number. Once a city says yes to license plate readers, the assumption in most council chambers is that the system is permanent infrastructure, not a policy choice up for review. Lynnwood just proved that assumption wrong. That's a template other communities can point to when they're told a Flock contract is basically irreversible.

If your city has cameras already, or is quietly considering them, don't wait for a leak or a scandal to start asking questions. Check our map to see what's already deployed near you, and use our take-action guide to push your own council toward the kind of scrutiny Lynnwood residents forced onto theirs.