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Council hears extended Q&A on license-plate readers, data access and audits
Summary
Councilor-led session and public commenters pressed city staff and the police chief for details on how the Flock automatic license-plate-reader system is used, where cameras are placed, retention rules and planned audits; staff said photos are retained about 30 days and a monthly audit and transparency portal are in place.
Councilor Jones and other council members spent the work session questioning city police staff about the automatic license-plate-reader (ALPR) system the department has contracted to operate in North Bend.
The police representative described operational practice: alerts from the vendor are delivered to officers, who — if able — go to locate the vehicle and provide the plate to dispatch for verification. "Sometimes they'll get a chance to look at it, but they could be, in the middle of going between calls, and they'll just see that that activation pops up, and it gives a vehicle description," the police chief said, adding that a link to a photo is also available. He said the system is used to support active investigations rather than as a tool to "troll" for plates.
Council members pressed staff on oversight and audit timing. The chief said audits are performed by the captain and staff are working to publish regular reports: "We should probably be able to start publishing 1... in the next month or so" and that internal checks have not found officers using the system for improper purposes. He also said photos and identifying image data are retained for about 30 days while administrative logs of searches remain available longer for accountability.
Members of the public urged stronger local standards and outside oversight. "I'm principally against any kind of these devices — the risks that they pose to our right of privacy," resident Agnes Deploy told the council, asking that audit intervals and public disclosure rules be clarified. Jess Howell of the Southwest Health Equity Coalition urged adoption of the ACLU's CCOPS community oversight model so the public can review policy changes and vendor updates.
Staff described where cameras are mounted (major thoroughfares rather than residential streets) and walked attendees through the city's transparency portal showing search counts and reasons. The police representative said the portal lists the number of user search sessions over the last 30 days and pointed to roughly "7" searches in the most recent 30-day window.
No formal action or vote occurred during the work session; staff said they will continue audits and monitoring and would recommend termination of the program if misuse is discovered.
