Automated License Plate Readers

Flock Falcon cameras only capture still images of vehicles traveling on public roadways.

The cameras do NOT:

• Track vehicles continuously
• Use facial recognition technology
• Capture images of people or identify personal characteristics such as race, gender, or identity.
• Collect personal information like names, addresses, driver’s license information, or dates of birth
• Collect data on the premises or immediate surroundings of protected health care facilities, elementary and secondary schools, places of worship, courts, or food banks, in accordance with SB 6002.

Access to the ALPR database is restricted and governed by state law and department policy.

Before conducting a search, officers must enter all required information, including:

• An authorized offense type
• A case or incident number
• The specific crime being investigated
• The classification of the crime (gross misdemeanor or felony)
• Every search is logged and subject to review and audit.

Officers may receive an alert on their in-car computer when a wanted vehicle associated with a qualifying law enforcement purpose passes an ALPR camera within the City of Renton.

The alert includes:

• The rear license plate
• A photograph of the vehicle
• The location of the camera that captured the image

An ALPR alert alone does not establish probable cause or reasonable suspicion. Officers must independently verify the information and confirm the vehicle's connection to a crime or authorized law enforcement purpose before taking any enforcement action.

This is an example of an alert that an officer will receive:

Only a very small fraction of the images captured by Renton's ALPR system are ever viewed by officers or detectives.

Between April 22 and May 7, 2026*:

• 5,271,962 images were captured
• Officers conducted 390 authorized searches
• Officers received 71 alerts

This means officers accessed approximately 0.008% of all images collected during that period. Of those searches, the majority were for weapons offenses and homicide cases.

This is a breakdown of the types of crimes used for searches during this timeframe: 

*This date range represents the timeframe the ALPR cameras were operational under the new Washington State Senate Bill 6002 before the Renton City Council voted to pause all ALPR cameras.  

The Renton Police Department only shares ALPR data  with Washington State law enforcement agencies that are authorized under state law.

No Federal or Out-of-State Access

The Renton Police Department does not share data with federal or out of state agencies. Federal agencies do not have access to Washington ALPR data and cannot bypass system safeguards to obtain it.

Following the passage of Senate Bill 6002, Flock implemented statewide technical restrictions that apply to every Washington law enforcement agency using the platform. These safeguards include:

• Removal of all Washington agencies from the National Lookup Network
• Permanent prevention of Washington agencies being re-added to the National Lookup Network
• Revocation and blocking of data sharing with federal agencies
• Prevention of federal users from viewing Washington agencies within the platform

Flock Safety does not have contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The Renton Police Department audits ALPR activity twice each month to ensure compliance with department policy and Washington state law.

During each audit, reviewers verify that searches:

• Include a valid case or incident number
• Are associated with an authorized investigation
• Contain the required documentation and justification

In addition, Flock's audit assistance tools identify potential policy violations for expedited review.

All audits are documented, retained, and reported annually to the Washington State Attorney General's Office as required by Senate Bill 6002.

ALPR data is stored in Amazon Web Services (AWS) and is automatically deleted after 21 days, as required by Washington state law.

The deletion process is enforced by AWS, not by Flock Safety. Data is removed through an automated Amazon S3 lifecycle rule that runs continuously and cannot be skipped, paused, or overridden by Flock personnel.

Every deletion is recorded in AWS CloudTrail with a tamper-resistant, cryptographically validated timestamp. AWS CloudWatch also reflects the corresponding reduction in stored data in real time.

Once data reaches the end of its retention period and is deleted, it cannot be recovered by anyone, including AWS engineers.

The AWS environment used to store ALPR data is independently audited and certified against leading security and compliance standards applicable to public-sector information systems.

ALPR data is protected through multiple layers of security.

Data is:

• Encrypted on the device
• Encrypted while being transmitted
• Stored in a secure AWS cloud environment that meets public-sector security standards

Every search conducted within the system is logged, associated with a specific user account, and available for review through auditing tools.

The Department's ALPR platform also uses multi-factor authentication, role-based access controls, and secure government cloud infrastructure designed to safeguard sensitive criminal justice information.

How is ALPR data protected from cyber threats?

The Department's ALPR system incorporates multiple cybersecurity safeguards, including encryption, secure authentication, and continuous monitoring. The system is designed to meet recognized criminal justice and information security standards such as the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS), NDAA, SOC2 (Type II), SOC3, ISO 27001, Higher Education Community Vendor Assessment Tool (HECVAT), and FERPA-compliant, and ALPR data is stored in a secure government cloud environment to help protect against unauthorized access.

The Renton City Council voted to pause all ALPR systems on May 4, 2026. 

The Renton City Council voted to pause all ALPR systems on May 4, 2026.