
Richland police turn off their Flock cameras as a new state privacy law takes effect
Richland switched its Flock system off completely when Washington's Senate Bill 6002 took effect, rather than risk running it out of compliance. The law limits licence plate readers to felonies, gross misdemeanours, stolen vehicles, outstanding warrants and missing or endangered people, requires data to be deleted after 21 days unless it is evidence, and requires departments to register with the attorney general and update their policies before using the system again. Police said the shutdown would hamper investigations in the short term while they wait for state guidance. This is the structural version of a Flock rollback: not one town's vote but a state law that switched cameras off across it at once.
From the reporting
- Senate Bill 6002 restricts ALPR use to felonies, gross misdemeanours, stolen vehicles, arrest-warrant vehicles, and missing or endangered persons.
- Data must be deleted after 21 days unless retained as police evidence.
- Before switching the system back on, the department must register with the attorney general's office and update its policies.
- Richland said the shutdown would affect investigations in the short term while it awaits guidance from the state.
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