Redmond council presses police on drones, body cameras and license-plate readers; ALPR program remains paused

Police Chief Daryl Lowe told the Redmond City Council on March 10 that the department’s public-safety technology program is governed by policy 3-41 and protected by CJIS-compliant systems, two-factor authentication and audit trails.

"We were the first department in Washington to have a full time drone as a first responder program," Lowe said, describing an April 2024 pilot that expanded from three to seven docking stations and can reach many calls in under 90 seconds. Lowe said drone video is uploaded to the city’s encrypted digital evidence management system and flights are tied to case numbers or calls for service.

Lowe also reviewed the department’s body-worn camera program and automatic license-plate readers (ALPRs). He said body-camera footage is generally retained 90 days unless associated with a criminal case, and that the new state law he referenced (Senate Bill 6002) establishes a 21-day retention period for ALPR data except where longer retention is required by investigation. Lowe described use cases for ALPRs ranging from stolen-vehicle recovery and missing-person searches to parking and school-zone enforcement and said fixed systems have about a 98% read accuracy.

Council members pressed the chief on multiple policy and operational points. They asked how long footage and ALPR records are retained and whether deletion is complete; Lowe said he would provide technical details on the deletion process but emphasized that most investigative uses are contemporaneous and fit within the new 21‑day retention standard. Council member Forsyth asked whether late complaints could be investigated if footage has been deleted; Lowe said footage not tied to a case would generally not be available after the 90-day window for body cameras.

Several council members and the vice president raised community-trust concerns tied to program expansion and potential misuse. Vice President Nueva Camino noted residents’ unease that drone docks had increased from three to seven, and multiple members suggested revising the city’s governance rules to be more prescriptive about large events, protest monitoring, and prohibitions such as facial-recognition or biometric processing. "We need guardrails in there to protect the community in the future," Nueva Camino said.

On the question of whether residents can opt out of being captured by ALPRs, Lowe said there is no opt-out for public-space surveillance: "There is no expectation of privacy in a public place," he said, and building an opt-out process would be administratively complex and legally fraught. Lowe also said the city has paused the fixed-ALPR program, that the contract is valid through 2027, and that TIS (technology) staff have terminated agency access so the vendor confirms no data are currently flowing.

Council members sought additional follow-up: a written technical explanation of data-deletion practices, clarification of what the attorney general’s model policy will require, a review of vendor master-service agreements and any contract clauses addressing forced activation by outside agencies, and more prescriptive city policy on drone and ALPR use at large events and for crowd assessment. Chief Lowe volunteered to return with technical specifics and to coordinate with the city attorney and TIS staff.

There was no formal vote on any of the technology items at the study session; the council directed staff to return with additional information and policy proposals ahead of future committee and budget deliberations.