The Mountlake Terrace City Council is scheduled to vote on a proposed Flock safety system for the police department during its May 15 meeting.
Discussed initially during the March 27 meeting, the council will review and vote on the license plate reader cameras and the yearly service contract.
The council is also scheduled to discuss and vote on an interlocal agreement with the US Department of Agriculture’s Waterfowl Management Program to manage the goose population at Ballinger Park.
Other items on the agenda include a presentation on the legislative session by Washington State lobbyists Amina Abdalla and Shelly Helder, as well as a proclamation for Public Works Week.
The council will hold its business meeting at 7 p.m., Feb. 13, at Mountlake Terrace City Hall, 23204 58th Ave. W., Mountlake Terrace. To attend the meeting online, visit zoom.us/join and enter meeting ID 810 1113 9518; no passcode is needed.
To make a public comment remotely, complete the registration form within 24 hours of the meeting’s start.
To listen via telephone, call 1-253-215-8782 and enter the same meeting ID.
You can also view livestreamed meetings and past video recordings at www.youtube.com/cityofmlt.
The agenda can be viewed here.
Surveilling a community is *extremely* troubling. This would not make us feel safer as residents of MLT. Given the current federal administration and myriad highly aggressive ICE activities (for example, the IRS-ICE data sharing agreement which now has the IRS sharing previously unshared taxpayer data with ICE) I would not support this purchase. I’m extremely concerned that license plate data in MLT could be obtained by the federal government/ICE in order to find undocumented residents. The Flock PDF says that this is one solution to understaffing–of course they say that–this is a product that they want you to buy. If the city does need more officers, perhaps that $54,000 could be spent on recruitment efforts instead.
What is wrong with finding illegal aliens and deporting them? It would be nice if there were some info here on the flock system and how it works.
There’s a link this story to past coverage that explains the system: https://mltnews.com/city-council-removes-license-plate-camera-system-from-consent-agenda-for-more-discussion/
“Illegal aliens” is a dehumanizing and blatantly disrespectful term. Try “undocumented immigrant” instead. These are people, not “aliens”.
No deportations should be carried out without due process. Period. If there was no due process, that was a kidnapping.
Using this Flock system TO find undocumented folks is absolutely troubling—and don’t forget, you’d be subject to the same surveillance too. Be careful what you wish for!
“Illegal Aliens” is the correct description. Those who enter the US illegally and remain here illegally are NOT “Immigrants”. Anything else is just disguising and trying to normalize their true status. Calling them “undocumented immigrants”is an insult to those who endured the time, expense and indignities to enter here legally and remain here legally.
The word “alien” has been in use since the 14th century to refer to foreigners, from the Latin alienus. There is nothing whatsoever wrong with the word being used to refer to noncitizens. People here legally are called resident aliens. An immigrant is someone who comes to live permanently. The dictionary says the word “undocumented” in front of it is an American invention, to avoid using the word illegal. Not all people here unlawfully are immigrants – they plan on returning home, but overstayed their visa or some other reason. They are correctly called aliens.
Completely disagree. Edmonds is facing a $13M budget deficit and is considering disbanding their police department. Brier is facing bankruptcy and possible unincorporation by 2029 because they aren’t bringing in enough money to cover expenses. MLT population is expected to double with 40,000 people by 2040. When the city was short of money during the recession, police services suffered the deepest cuts. Their numbers were down 40% and they struggled to maintain minimum staffing. $54,000 would not even cover one officer for a year. The city needs to focus on public safety – doubling the population isn’t going to double the budget, so it is going to come with significant growing pains. ICE has many other more effective methods at their disposal, so I fail to see how the unlikely use of license plate data to maybe find a few people outweighs the greater need to ensure public safety.
My point wasn’t that $54k would hire an officer, that’s of course far too low. But if they’re seeking to use this system as a way to help w understaffing, this isn’t the way to go about it. There are better ways to address understaffing than by instituting mass surveillance systems that raise privacy issues.
ICE or not, these Flock systems are not something that should just be installed in communities without full knowledge of/discussion with community members. Even as a law-abiding American citizen, I take issue with them and think their use has to be VERY well discussed before implementation, if it must happen at all. This locally obtained data can be fed into a national database that permits mass police surveillance. Folks have a right to privacy and this is extremely unsettling for that reason.
https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/how-to-pump-the-brakes-on-your-police-departments-use-of-flocks-mass-surveillance-license-plate-readers
You mention privacy several times as a reason against these. There is no legal right to privacy in public spaces. Having seen firsthand the detrimental results of understaffing, I would be interested to hear what you think a better option would be. Understaffing is caused by budget constraints, so with that in mind you need to come up with free or low cost solutions. A previously purchased camera system that is in effect during the lean times is fine in my book. Because I do think there will be many times when the city is not flush with money. They tore down city hall with no funding in place to rebuild, leaving them stuck renting at an exhorbitant cost for 12+ years. They undercharged for water service for 10+ years, deferring needed maintenance while subsidizing from the general fund, which was a huge mistake that we are all paying for now. The number of officers needed for 40,000 people is going to go up, but if revenue doesn’t, we will not get them. We cannot afford to end up broke like Edmonds and Brier. We would have to outsource our police department to the county like Edmonds and Brier are considering, which will increase response times substantially. Your own link suggests ways to limit your concerns about the Flock system.
No, of course $54k wouldn’t cover an officer’s salary-already mentioned. A perk of the system, per the presentation, was that it purportedly COULD help w understaffing. My response to that is that IF one wanted to spend $54k that on understaffing, due to privacy concerns I’d suggest addressing understaffing via other methods (i.e. spending that $54k on recruitment, for example).
With respect to ICE using DMV data, hope is not a plan, so even “unlikely” events must be considered. No one predicted that the IRS would be sharing data either—that was an unlikely event that indeed…. happened. These “few people” to whom you refer—they’re undocumented immigrants and they too deserve safety in public. Sacrificing the privacy of many to “maybe find a few people” is wrong *on both sides*.
We do have some expectation of privacy in our cars, and I (as a citizen) do not want my movements tracked around the country across the Flock network. I’m sure *many* other law-abiding citizens would agree with me. Participating in a mass surveillance state? Not for me, thank you! “Under his eye” would have new meaning indeed. I don’t want to be under Garrett Langley’s eye (Flock CEO) or living in Gilead.
I read that Flock Safety has already proven useful locally—helping Everett PD identify a murder suspect and assisting Arlington police in recovering a record number of stolen vehicles.
Sam, as an ARNP, I assume you use MyChart. Wasn’t that platform recently involved in one of the largest leaks of private medical data? Did you protest that—a system managed by a third party, holding our most personal health information?
For anyone interested, Everett has published detailed information about its Flock system here: https://www.everettwa.gov/3209/Flock-Safety-System
I completely understand the concerns people have. But after reviewing Flock’s retention policy, data access controls, and oversight, I believe the benefits far outweigh the fear-based objections being circulated.
As someone running for a city council seat, I find it troubling that personal bias appears to be clouding your ability to objectively weigh what’s best for the safety of our community. Public policy should be driven by facts—not fear or division.
Flock does not share data with ICE.
Flock helps local law enforcement, not federal agencies.
And when used properly, it can be a powerful tool to keep our neighborhoods safer. Lynnwood, Edmonds, Mill Creek all have Flock I believe.
I use MyChart as a patient primarily, and actually extremely rarely as a provider. MyChart is not a surveillance system. I am not in tech so cannot comment on MyChart security or privacy breaches.
Correct, Flock does not (at this time) share data w the federal government. As of 5-6 weeks ago, the IRS didn’t share data with DHS to be used in immigration purposes. But here we are. It isn’t bias or fear you read, it’s critical thinking about a product that raises many concerns for folks nationwide. We have to all evaluate these tools and think ahead sometimes. Could they be useful in apprehending criminals? Of course! But at what cost to our community? Food for thought.
Do I want a safety community? Of course. But I don’t think this is an appropriate tool to use.
The city council meeting is June 5, hope you can attend so we can all hear diverse opinions about this subject.