Ban "Flock Cameras" (ALPRs) From Spokane County
The Issue
Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs) have no place in Spokane County. They are not proven to reduce crime, have been used by outside parties and police for illegal activities, and are a direct infringement upon our right to privacy. I and many other citizens of Spokane County do not feel safe with ALPRs in our communities.
Due to their AI usage, they take up massive quantities of RAM, an important resource used in electronics manufacturing. This, in turn, makes all electronics that utilize RAM, such as smartphones, personal computers, and laptops, much more expensive for the average consumer. These devices also utilize CPUs and GPUs, power processing units crucial to electronic function, further contributing to higher costs.
Many ALPRs are vulnerable to hacking, allowing potentially nefarious parties to access sensitive data citizens have not consented to giving. Most security can be bypassed with a simple open-source online tool and access to the device. The companies in charge of manufacturing and operating ALPRs, such as Flock Group Inc., have also not been honest with who they share their data with, handing out your private information to potentially thousands of agencies, government or otherwise.
Said companies claim these cameras are not used for facial recognition, but they do contain code that allows them to distinguish faces. They can also see through front windshields when placed at certain angles. This information, your face, being stored unedited for any amount of time and/or being used as a factor for an arrest is in direct violation of Washington State law.
Police have also been found to misuse information from ALPRs, instigating violent police encounters based on AI mistakes, perpetuating racist policing, and have been used to track and/or stalk people across state lines. ALPRs also do not provide significant benefit to police as most data collected, up to 99.7% in the case of Piedmont, CA, is not useful in investigations.
In short, ALPRs are a massive breach in public safety, a waste of otherwise very useful resources, and continue to allow and perhaps even encourage police brutality. I cannot emphasize how important it is to ban the usage of ALPRs in Spokane County for our safety, dignity, and right to privacy.
More information can be found at the DeFlock website. This, along with a few tech-savvy and/or like-minded individuals, are the sources I used.
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The Issue
Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs) have no place in Spokane County. They are not proven to reduce crime, have been used by outside parties and police for illegal activities, and are a direct infringement upon our right to privacy. I and many other citizens of Spokane County do not feel safe with ALPRs in our communities.
Due to their AI usage, they take up massive quantities of RAM, an important resource used in electronics manufacturing. This, in turn, makes all electronics that utilize RAM, such as smartphones, personal computers, and laptops, much more expensive for the average consumer. These devices also utilize CPUs and GPUs, power processing units crucial to electronic function, further contributing to higher costs.
Many ALPRs are vulnerable to hacking, allowing potentially nefarious parties to access sensitive data citizens have not consented to giving. Most security can be bypassed with a simple open-source online tool and access to the device. The companies in charge of manufacturing and operating ALPRs, such as Flock Group Inc., have also not been honest with who they share their data with, handing out your private information to potentially thousands of agencies, government or otherwise.
Said companies claim these cameras are not used for facial recognition, but they do contain code that allows them to distinguish faces. They can also see through front windshields when placed at certain angles. This information, your face, being stored unedited for any amount of time and/or being used as a factor for an arrest is in direct violation of Washington State law.
Police have also been found to misuse information from ALPRs, instigating violent police encounters based on AI mistakes, perpetuating racist policing, and have been used to track and/or stalk people across state lines. ALPRs also do not provide significant benefit to police as most data collected, up to 99.7% in the case of Piedmont, CA, is not useful in investigations.
In short, ALPRs are a massive breach in public safety, a waste of otherwise very useful resources, and continue to allow and perhaps even encourage police brutality. I cannot emphasize how important it is to ban the usage of ALPRs in Spokane County for our safety, dignity, and right to privacy.
More information can be found at the DeFlock website. This, along with a few tech-savvy and/or like-minded individuals, are the sources I used.
The Decision Makers
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Petition created on October 22, 2026