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License-plate readers · Lewis County

Lewis County

Using license-plate readers · 3 agencies documented

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Centralia Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
20
20 LPR and other cameras listed on the department's Flock transparency portal (updated Nov. 21, 2025); The Chronicle reported Centralia tested 20 Flock cameras in 2023.
  1. Sept. 2022 Police Chief Stacy Denham asked the City Council for Flock cameras at a council meeting in early September 2022, per The Chronicle. (The Chronicle (Centralia), Sept. 16, 2022)
  2. March 2023 Chief Denham updated the City Council on installation of Flock cameras; The Chronicle reported the last cameras were installed the week of its April 5, 2023 story, starting a trial period. (The Chronicle (Centralia), April 5, 2023)
  3. Oct. 21, 2025 The UW Center for Human Rights report said Centralia disclosed Flock network audits for January through August 2025 and that its shared-network list included non-Washington organizations. (University of Washington Center for Human Rights, Oct. 21, 2025)
  4. Nov. 21, 2025 Transparency portal, last updated Nov. 21, 2025, listed 20 cameras, 30-day retention, and 97 sharing organizations, all labeled as Washington agencies; listed prohibited uses include immigration enforcement. (Flock Safety, Nov. 21, 2025)
Conflicts and open questions
  • The council-meeting dates for the 2022 request and 2023 update are given in The Chronicle only as 'the first city council meeting this month' (September 2022) and 'last week' (late March 2023).

From agency records.

Chehalis Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
  1. June 2023 The Chronicle reported Flock cameras were coming to Chehalis, following Centralia's program. (The Chronicle (Centralia), June 28, 2023)
  2. Oct. 21, 2025 The UW Center for Human Rights report said Chehalis police disclosed Flock network audits for January through August 2025 and that its shared-network list included non-Washington organizations. (University of Washington Center for Human Rights, Oct. 21, 2025)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Camera count not found.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Napavine Police Department

Status
Program documented, current use unconfirmed
Vendors
Flock Safety
  1. Sept. 2023 Napavine City Council adopted Flock cameras, making it the third Lewis County city to do so, per The Chronicle. (The Chronicle (Centralia), Sept. 14, 2023)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Exact meeting date not visible (paywalled article posted Sept. 14, 2023). No 2025-26 evidence of current use found.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Statewide

  1. 2025 A University of Washington Center for Human Rights report on Flock networks in the state said as many as 80 public agencies in Washington reportedly use Flock, and examined how agencies share the data, including with federal agencies. (University of Washington Center for Human Rights, Oct. 21, 2025)
  2. Feb. 4, 2026 The state Senate passed Senate Bill 6002, sponsored by Sen. Yasmin Trudeau (D-Tacoma), 40-9. At that stage the bill required plate-reader data to be deleted within 21 days unless needed as evidence (a Senate committee had lengthened this from 72 hours), largely barred sharing, banned use for civil immigration enforcement and kept the data out of public records requests, apart from use in research. (Washington State Standard / KUOW, Feb. 5, 2026)
  3. March 2026 The state House passed SB 6002 84-10 in early March 2026. The House version added gross misdemeanors to the permitted investigative uses, and the bill returned to the Senate for concurrence. (Washington State Standard, March 6, 2026)
  4. March 30, 2026 Gov. Bob Ferguson signed SB 6002 on March 30, 2026, and it took effect at once. Police may now run plate searches only for felony or gross-misdemeanor cases, stolen cars, cars linked to people with arrest warrants, and missing or endangered people (with exceptions). Reads must be purged after 21 days unless kept as evidence, and they can be shared only for court cases. The law forbids using the readers for immigration enforcement or to monitor protected activity such as speech. It forbids collecting data near protected health care or immigration sites, schools, courts, food banks and houses of worship. Agencies must log who accessed the data and keep those logs for two years, and the data is closed to public records requests except for research. (Washington State Standard / KUOW, March 31, 2026)
  5. March 30, 2026 SB 6002 directs the Attorney General's Office to develop model plate-reader policies by July 1, 2027. Agencies must adopt them by December 2027. (Washington State Standard / KUOW, March 31, 2026; Washington State Standard, March 6, 2026)
  6. March 30, 2026 Flock Safety said it was already complying with parts of the law, such as purging data after 21 days. (Washington State Standard / KUOW, March 31, 2026)