SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — Nearly 100 automated license plate reader cameras that helped Spokane County law enforcement arrest hundreds of suspects and recover stolen vehicles have gone dark after Sheriff John Nowels temporarily disabled the entire system due to concerns about a new state privacy law.
The sheriff’s office shut down all of its ALPR (Automated License Plate Recognition) cameras, also known as Flock cameras, because of uncertainty about how to comply with new legislation that establishes rules for how the surveillance technology can be used.
“There are a lot of nuances written into the law. Some of it intentionally, some of it unintentionally. That has made it so we could not continue to operate the system with confidence that we wouldn’t be violating some of the provisions in the law,” Nowels said.
The new law was designed to protect driver privacy by setting strict parameters around what the cameras can be used for, where they can be placed and how long data can be stored. However, Nowels said the regulations prevent his department from using the cameras at full capacity.
“Before you could run the search for any misdemeanor crime, missing persons, you know, we could run searches against a database that was generated from information provided in NCIC, which is the National crime database,” Nowels explained. “This new legislation specifically prohibits us touching NCIC to do any searches.”
The law also restricts camera placement, prohibiting the devices on or near schools, churches, courts and food banks. But Nowels said the vague language around these location restrictions creates additional confusion for law enforcement.
“Nobody has and is going to define what the vicinity means. Is that 50 feet, is it 100 feet? Is it 100 yards? We don’t know. And those are the problems that we’re running into with this legislation,” he said.
The sheriff’s office is now working with its legal team to understand the new guidelines and determine how to get the cameras operational again. However, there is no timeline for when that might happen, and some cameras may be permanently shut down.
The impact of losing the camera system could be significant for public safety. The sheriff’s office says between 2023 and 2026 the ALPR cameras helped arrest 521 people and track down 268 stolen cars.
“We’re going to go back to where we were five years ago, where we may not be able to identify people who have committed serious crimes in this community as quickly or maybe even not at all, because the lack of information is here,” Nowels said.
Other law enforcement agencies in the area are taking different approaches to the new law.
Liberty Lake and Airway Heights police departments also use ALPR cameras. While Liberty Lake police said they are having conversations with lawyers about compliance, their cameras remain operational for now.
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