Commission proposes oversight role after briefing on planned Flock license-plate system

At the Mountlake Terrace Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission meeting, commissioners were briefed on the city’s planned installation of a Flock license‑plate reader system and discussed oversight steps including a proposal to form a commission subcommittee to observe audits and review access procedures.

Commissioners said they met with the police chief and Commander King to review the system policy and operations before installation. The system is not installed yet, and staff told the commission it should be online in a “couple of months.” The system captures still images of license plates, not video of vehicle occupants, and access to the data requires an approved case number and an authorization process, commissioners reported.

The issue drew attention because of public concern about surveillance and data use. “They've never been in contact with ICE,” one commissioner said, quoting the police explanation during the briefing, and added that police told the commission that federal access would prompt a shutdown of the system. Commissioners also reported that any individual who accesses the system will have their access logged and that misuse would lead to revoked access or disciplinary action.

Commissioners described two audit layers described by police: scheduled audits and random audits. The frequency of the scheduled audits was not specified in the briefing. The commission asked for clarity about how often audits would run and how access logs would be reviewed; police told the commission there would be both scheduled and random reviews but did not provide a specific audit cadence.

Because of privacy and civil‑liberties concerns raised during public comment and by commissioners, members proposed forming a subcommittee of commissioners to observe future audits, develop a public checklist for review, and report findings back to the public. One commissioner said the subcommittee could attend scheduled reviews and “bring that here so we can easily summarize what we experienced.” The commission indicated it would ask City Council member Murray to introduce related material at council and revisit the proposal at a later meeting.

Discussion vs. decision: this meeting included a briefing and a proposal to form a subcommittee; the commission did not record a formal vote at the meeting to create the oversight subcommittee. The commission did report plans to continue asking questions and to return for further briefings after the system is installed.

Next steps include follow‑up meetings with the police department to review setup data after installation and a possible return report to this commission. Commissioners said they were encouraged by the willingness of police leadership to allow continued review and suggested public reporting of the subcommittee’s findings if the subcommittee is formed.