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The city of Renton will be ending its contract with Flock for Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) cameras in the city.
At the Oct. 26 Renton City Council meeting, mayor Armondo Pavone confirmed the city will not be renewing its contract with Flock Safety after the current contract expires in November 2026. Councilmember Carmen Rivera asked for a “formal public announcement” on the state of the future contract with Flock after she had “quietly” been informed the city will not renew.
“For months we have had several members of the community coming every Monday to speak about Flock. This is a bipartisan issue,” Rivera said. “It has been from everyone I’ve spoken to, when I’m going to community picnics. There are concerns around Flock.”
Councilmember Ruth Pérez said city attorney Shane Moloney notified the council on Oct. 21 that the police gave Flock a notice of non-renewal to prevent the contract from automatically renewing when the current one ends on Nov. 2.
Pavone said he does not have the authority to sign a new contract unless the council approves. The council voted against a motion to not renew the contract at the Aug. 10 meeting. Several council members said they would not want to make the decision until after the scheduled police orientation on Flock cameras, which was given on Aug. 27 via Zoom.
The cameras have been turned off in Renton since May 4, 2026. The council later voted to turn on the ALPR Axon in-car cameras in police vehicles and the ALPR Genetec cameras in parking enforcement vehicles back on, while keeping the Flock cameras off, at the July 22 meeting. The council voted to put covers on all the city’s Flock cameras on Aug. 3.
Pavone confirmed the cameras will be taken down after the contract’s expiration.
At the police department’s orientation, Renton Police said the Flock cameras cost the city $80,000 a year and do not produce revenue for the city like the school-zone and red-light cameras.
RPD contracted with Flock Safety in Nov. 2024 to install 24 stationary Flock ALPR cameras at major intersections throughout Renton. While these cameras will be removed when the city’s contract expires, private individuals and companies can still have operating Flock cameras on their property through personal contracts with the company.
Washington Senate Bill 6002 placed limitations on how ALPR camera data can be collected, accessed, shared, and retained in Washington. However, according to Flock’s website, the law does not restrict private entities from deciding with whom they can share data.
“It is possible that the law does not – and cannot – disallow a private entity from voluntarily giving information to police,” Flock’s website states.
They also claim agencies may obtain data from privately owned ALPR cameras with a warrant or court order.
Renton Police Public Information Officer Meeghan Black said the department does not have information on the location of privately-owned Flock cameras. She said the businesses that use them are private property and are not required to report that information.
