Redmond, WA
The Redmond City Council voted 7-0 to terminate the city's contract with Flock Safety and end its automated license plate reader program, clearing the way to remove all 24 ALPRs in the city. The termination followed an eight-month suspension: the council recommended disabling the system on 2025-11-03, and voted 5-0 on 2025-11-12 to formally suspend the program pending further discussion.
What moved this decision
- Community concern about privacy and potential federal access to data
- Sustained resident pressure to scrap the system
- Concerns about ICE and immigration enforcement use
- Advocacy campaign that triggered same-day disabling in November 2025
What happened afterwards
Redmond is a rare case of a full deliberative arc ending in termination rather than reinstatement - suspension in November 2025, months of research and public process including sustained resident pressure, then a unanimous termination eight months later. The initial November suspension was unusually fast: hours after an advocacy letter calling for decommissioning, the council recommended disabling the system and the police chief cut off officer access the same day. Washington cities that paused Flock contracts, Redmond among them, subsequently faced questions about grant and taxpayer money already committed.
What we still don’t know
These are the records we would need to describe this decision completely. If you can help obtain them, or already have them, get in touch.
- Contract value not established
- Whether the 24 cameras have been physically removed