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Goldendale police present Flock camera option with license-plate readers to council
Summary
Police Chief Mike Smith briefed the Goldendale City Council on a Flock camera system that would add 24-hour video and license-plate reading to city intersections and parks; councilmembers discussed costs, public disclosure, interoperability and next steps for researching the system.
Goldendale Police Chief Mike Smith told the city council that the department is researching Flock camera units that include license-plate readers and 24-hour video capability to help with investigations and park surveillance.
Chief Mike Smith said February patrol statistics included 270 calls for service and 14 arrests, and he framed the camera discussion around improving investigative leads and officer efficiency. He described the Flock system as capable of automatically alerting the department when a flagged license plate — for example a reported stolen vehicle or an AMBER Alert — passes a camera, and said the system can be accessed by officers through a mobile app or station computer.
The proposal as presented would have Flock retain recordings and provide public access for disclosures through the company’s platform, reducing the city’s burden for maintaining and fulfilling public-record requests, Smith said. He told the council the company quoted roughly $3,000 per camera per year for service in the example he discussed and that a five-camera deployment would amount to about $8 per day per camera when amortized over the year; he said staff would evaluate how many cameras the city would need.
Councilmembers asked about interoperability with regional systems and legal limits. Smith said the system can generate automatic alerts from cooperative networks (he cited Yakima Valley as an example) and that jurisdictions using the same system can receive shared alerts. Several councilmembers and staff emphasized that signs on state roadways and some equipment would require Washington State Department of Transportation (DOT) approval before installation.
No formal decision was made. Chief Smith said staff will continue researching options, costs, enforcement implications and how any chosen system would pair with the city’s existing streetlight and camera infrastructure, and that a future presentation to council may follow.
Ending: The council did not vote on procurement or deployment. Staff indicated it will return with additional data on camera counts, costs, maintenance responsibilities, public-disclosure procedures and DOT coordination before any contract authority is requested.
