The Mill Creek Police Department (MCPD) acknowledges public concerns regarding the use of Flock Safety (Flock) data by federal and out-of-state law enforcement agencies that may not comply with Washington State law.
Background & Timeline
On Nov. 1, 2024, MCPD entered a service agreement with Flock Safety. Shortly after, the planning and permitting process for automated license plate readers (ALPR) camera deployment began.
Flock installed the first camera in Mill Creek on Sept. 29, 2025. Any data inquiries before Sept. 29 would not have returned results, as no data was captured before that date.
Flock validated the MCPD system on Oct. 1, 2025. Validation is Flock's internal process to ensure settings are working correctly. Any data collected before validation would not have been available on the Flock system until Oct. 1.
On Oct. 1, Mill Creek disabled the "National Lookup" option to prevent possible backdoor access via the "National Lookup" option within Flock, which was closed to federal agencies on or before Aug. 25, 2025. Additionally, on Oct. 1, MCPD restricted access to its shared network to local and state agencies within Washington
On Oct. 27, 2025, MCPD further restricted access, allowing only Snohomish County agencies.
Audit and Safeguards
- To ensure transparency, MCPD and the City reviewed the data and confirmed that there were no federal agency inquiries during the validation period from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1, 2025.
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Per department policy, MCPD will conduct regular audits of network activity. Any misuse will result in immediate revocation of access.
Federal Access
- MCPD has never granted federal agencies, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Department of Homeland Security, or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) direct access to its shared network.
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MCPD will not grant federal agencies access to its Flock Safety network.
MCPD Commitment
- Maintaining public trust through transparency and accountability is vital to the successful use of Flock Safety.
- The mission of the MCPD is to provide professional police services to the community we serve. This mission commits our agency to upholding Washington State law and our community values. Our agency will make every effort to ensure responsible use of the technology leveraged to aid us in our mission.
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MCPD is working with Flock to develop a public-facing web portal. Once completed, this portal will provide residents with accessible information about the system's use in Mill Creek.