Renton pulls plug on Flock camera contract amid privacy debate

More than two dozen Flock Safety licenses in Renton expired on Monday and were not renewed. The city posted a public notice of the contract expiration on its website.

The decision to end the camera contracts stems from a yearlong debate, with Councilmember Ed Prince confirming at an Oct. 26 meeting that the cameras would be taken down.

The cameras have been turned off since May and were covered in August, The Seattle Times reported.

The decision does not affect license plate readers installed on Renton’s patrol cars and parking enforcement vehicles. Renton police officials stated in July they would not consider turning on the devices, which were also turned off in May, until the agency could guarantee the cameras could be used without violating a state law passed this year.

Governor Bob Ferguson signed Senate Bill 6002 into law on March 30, 2026. The law adds safeguards for Flock cameras, meaning police can use the readers only for felony or gross misdemeanor investigations, to look for stolen vehicles or those registered to people with arrest warrants, and to search for missing or endangered people. Data cannot be shared except for court proceedings, according to The Washington State Standard.

A UW report raises concerns

Residents raised privacy concerns after a study from the University of Washington’s Center for Human Rights showed federal immigration authorities had searched Renton’s data, according to The Seattle Times.

The report also identified 17 other public agencies in Washington whose data had been accessed similarly.

Debate over Flock cameras in Renton

An August city agenda described Flock cameras as useful for solving crimes and generating investigative leads. The cameras gather information about vehicles, rather than people, and can alert police when a vehicle is associated with a missing person, murder suspect, or stolen vehicle.

Renton Police Chief Jon Schuldt told the City Council at its Aug. 12 meeting that the cameras help officers.

“It’s a tool that helps speed up their investigations because now they are not having to look through hours, maybe days of video to try to identify where a suspect vehicle is, which can be done in minutes,” Schuldt said.

Schuldt acknowledged contract gaps involving image retention, federal sharing, and company access to data.

Renton Council President Pro Tem Ryan McIrvin also noted his concerns, in contrast to Schuldt.

“For me, it’s not about trust for the city,” McIrvin said. “I think there’s a larger trust issue with the operator of the software. I believe they’re off, but I can’t say I 100% know that.”

Camera details

The cameras do not reportedly use facial recognition, search for personal characteristics such as race or gender, or collect information such as names and addresses.

City data showed cameras captured more than 5.2 million images over 15 days and that the city deletes the camera data after 21 days.

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