ALPRs in Granite Falls: what they are, why they matter, what you can do to fight back.
Flock Falcon cameras are automated license plate readers (ALPRs). They photograph passing vehicles, and their images can also capture pedestrians. They create searchable time-and-location records on vehicles whether or not anyone associated with them is suspected of a crime.
Latest development · Oct. 21, 2026: Listen to the City Council meeting and Flock discussion.
February 13, 2027 is the working renewal date.
The master service agreement (MSA) and Order Form say the 12-month term begins with the first installation and validation of Flock hardware unless the Order Form states otherwise. City records show installation began February 13, 2025, and later City materials identify February 13 as the renewal date. The invoice separately lists an Oct. 23–Oct. 22 billing period; this site continues to use February 13 as the working contract timeline.
The service agreement requires notice of non-renewal at least 30 days before the end of the contract term. Using February 13 as the working renewal date, Council would need to act by mid-January 2027 to avoid another $21,000+ annual recurring charge, before tax or any later fee changes.
The system records ordinary drivers, not just criminal suspects.
Flock ALPRs collect more than a plate number. The platform can search by license plate, time and location, along with vehicle details such as type, make, color, covered plates, bumper stickers, decals and roof racks. Repeated detections can reconstruct where a vehicle was seen and when. The constitutional limits of large-scale ALPR tracking are being litigated under the Fourth Amendment in federal court.
The Feb. 13–17, 2025 dashboard shown below reflects data from five cameras that were active during that sample period—not all seven cameras purchased by the City.
Public concern about residents' privacy grew after deployment.
The public record is making the situation clearer. Granite Falls adopted the Flock system with little documented public pushback; officials later discussed public-records exposure and ways to handle it. Washington later enacted ALPR restrictions that, among other things, prohibit ALPR data collection on school premises, immediate surroundings, or access to or from elementary and secondary schools. The camera near Granite Falls High School was re-aimed, but not moved. The City has completed its own records production while key operational records remain with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.
The City finished its production. SCSO records are still outstanding.
City Clerk Darla Wilkins identified Installment 6 as the City’s sixth and final production and said the City had provided all responsive records currently in its possession. Installment 6 includes Council packets, police reports and ALPR compliance presentations. It does not include the SCSO query-by-query audit, search and access logs requested separately.
The remaining SCSO material includes Attorney General registration records, audit/search/access logs, records identifying outside agencies that queried or accessed Granite Falls ALPR data, and complaints or inquiries held by SCSO. A separate SCSO request also seeks policies, access information, correspondence and camera-status records. SCSO’s current estimate for its next installment is November 23, 2026.
Raising awareness and documenting enforcement of the law in practice.
This project has obtained and published large troves of public records to make Granite Falls’ ALPR program easier to understand. Legal concerns about the City’s use of ALPRs have been raised with relevant state agencies and public officials. The main goal is to give residents the records needed to take part in these discussions and hold elected officials to their decisions.
Raised the Granite Falls High School ALPR-location concern and provided the ALPR/Flock records then in my possession at the office’s request.
Submitted a Public Records Act request seeking records about notice, consultation, placement, privacy concerns and compliance involving the camera near the high school. The District currently estimates its first installment on or before October 13, 2026.
Contacted state lawmakers regarding Granite Falls’ implementation of SB 6002. Rep. Sam Low said he would defer to the Attorney General’s Office on whether the City is following state law and cited separation of powers when discussing a legislator’s role. RCW 43.10.030(5) separately authorizes the Attorney General, when requested, to provide legislators written opinions on legal questions relating to their official duties.
Shared research and coordinated with DeFlock. DeFlock is the only outside organization this project has collaborated with.