Letters to the Editor

Letter to the Editor | Are license plate reader cameras good for Gig Harbor?

I am writing to express my concerns about the increasing use of automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras in our communities — most especially in Gig Harbor. While these technologies promise to improve public safety and streamline law enforcement, there are significant drawbacks that must not be overlooked.

ALPR systems can pose a significant threat to individual privacy. These cameras are designed to capture and record the license plates and other identifiable features of EVERY vehicle that passes, often without any cause for suspicion. The data (images of your car, license plate, bumper stickers, etc.) are kept in a central database for 30 days. As a result, anyone whose license plate information has been captured by the cameras can have their movements tracked, sometimes without their knowledge or consent. This level of surveillance is concerning in a society where privacy is a fundamental right.

This is well worth noting too … the ALPR camera images are held not in a Gig Harbor PD computer or city database, but in the camera vendor’s own database. In the case of FLOCK, the ALPR vendor whose cameras the city of Gig Harbor is hoping to use, their database of images of your license plates are held in an Amazon Web Services cloud server. Such data could be accessed by unauthorized individuals, or used for purposes beyond law enforcement, such as commercial marketing or tracking citizens’ activities. This presents a dangerous precedent for the erosion of civil liberties.

Your data … our data … can be turned over to others as well. This is clearly stated in FLOCK Safety’s own website under terms and conditions Section 5.3 Disclosure of Footage.

“Subject to and during the Retention Period, Flock may access, use, preserve and/or disclose the Footage to law enforcement authorities, government officials, and/or third parties, if legally required to do so or if Flock has a good faith belief that such access, use, preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to comply with a legal process, enforce this Agreement, or detect, prevent or otherwise address security, privacy, fraud or technical issues, or emergency situations.”

In short, your license plate images, collected by 10 cameras in Gig Harbor over a space of 30 days (FLOCK’s default data retention period) can be shared with others … nationwide. If you don’t think this is ever going to happen, let me ask: Who of you, even 6 months ago, would have imagined an unelected official and their unvetted tech staff gaining access to our most sensitive data … our Social Security accounts and IRS tax returns?

As stated in a previous Gig Harbor Now opinion piece, another concern is the potential for errors and misidentifications. ALPR cameras are not infallible and can mistakenly flag a vehicle as being involved in criminal activity when it is not. This could lead to wrongful detentions, fines, or other legal consequences for people who are simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. There are multiple lawsuits against ALPR vendors … Norfolk, Connecticut and Illinois just to name a few. These lawsuits and controversies highlight the ongoing debate over balancing technological advancements in law enforcement with the protection of individual privacy rights.

Finally, there is the issue of accountability. Once these systems are in place, it becomes harder to regulate how the collected data are stored, accessed, and shared. With minimal oversight, we risk creating a surveillance state where individuals are constantly watched without their awareness or consent.

While the intention behind ALPR technology may be to improve safety and efficiency, we must balance these goals with the protection of fundamental rights. Before expanding the use of these systems, we need more public dialogue and stronger regulations to safeguard our privacy and prevent misuse.

The Gig Harbor City Council will be voting on approving the use of a grant to purchase and install this system in Gig Harbor at our 24 March 2025 city council meeting. I urge you to come to this meeting to voice your opinion on this. It is part of our democratic system and hearing from you makes a difference. In the meantime, I urge you to express your thoughts via email to Mayor Barber and the city council at [email protected].

And of course, this letter expresses my opinion only and does not represent the opinion of the Mayor of Gig Harbor, the Gig Harbor City Council or city staff.

Thank you,

Roger Henderson

Gig Harbor City Council Position No. 2