MUKILTEO, Wash. — The Mukilteo Police Department said it has shut off a national data-sharing feature of its automated license plate cameras after learning that federal agencies accessed the system without local approval.
The access was revealed in a University of Washington Center for Human Rights report that showed immigration officials conducted searches with data from 31 Washington police agencies.
In a statement Wednesday, police officials said they recently discovered that U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security used the Flock Camera System, which includes 10 cameras deployed throughout the city. The access, according to the department, was done “without our permission” and violated internal policy.
The department emphasized that it does not take part in immigration enforcement and never authorized federal access for that purpose. The Flock system, used by police agencies nationwide, helps identify stolen vehicles, locate missing people and assist in local criminal investigations.
Officials said the unauthorized access came through Flock’s “National Lookup” feature, which allows agencies to search plate data across jurisdictions. Mukilteo police said they were unaware the camera vendor had entered a pilot program with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The department has since disabled that feature “out of an abundance of caution.”
Mukilteo Police Chief Andy Illyn said in a written statement that while the department values its partnerships with federal law enforcement, the situation undermines trust.
“When a partner circumvents local oversight and accesses systems without disclosure, it compromises the integrity of that relationship,” Illyn said.
Mukilteo police said they are in contact with Flock representatives and have taken steps to prevent further unauthorized access. The department said it would continue reviewing system use to ensure it aligns with state privacy laws, including the Keep Washington Working Act, which limits local cooperation in immigration enforcement.
트위터 공유: 무킬테오 경찰 연방 무단 접근으로 카메라 시스템 차단