Parker began her presentation on Dec. 2 by stating she would be recommending the City Manager suspend use of the Flock program to “further examine the concerns raised by our community.” However, she said Olympia’s Flock data is secure, and that the cameras have been helpful in dozens of cases since they were installed last year.
While sharing data and stories about cases aided by the cameras, Parker was interrupted by a rally outside council chambers. The council decided to reconvene in a private room after continued disruptions. The meeting was still streamed live online.
Parker told The Olympian that OPD contacted Flock on Tuesday night and requested that the system be deactivated. She said Wednesday morning Flock confirmed they received the request and advised that the cameras would be turned off within 24 hours. She said city staff had covered all the cameras by Wednesday afternoon, and that there’s currently no timeline for when the Flock company will be removing them.
Parker said she’s read every email sent to the City Council about Flock and she listened to every public comment from the Nov. 18 council meeting. She said the city adopted the system to respond to real issues such as stolen vehicles and armed robberies, with privacy in mind.
“OPD enabled the most restrictive settings available because safeguarding community privacy matters just as much as solving crime,” Parker said. “These choices reflect the city’s public safety vision, particularly goal one of the reimagining public safety recommendations, which prioritizes building trust and legitimacy through clear values, transparency, accountability and responsiveness.”
Parker said the city contracted with Flock in March of 2024 with a grant from the Department of Commerce. The two-year program was meant to run through July of 2026 at a total cost of $98,550.
She said the cameras were strategically placed at intersections in Olympia where retail theft and stolen vehicles were most commonly spotted. They’re mostly around the Capital Mall on the west side, and there are a couple close to I-5 on Pacific Avenue and Martin Way. In total, there are 15 cameras at six intersections. Is Olympia’s data accessible?
Parker said all the data captured by the cameras is owned by OPD and never sold or accessed by Flock. She said the data is retained for 30 days and automatically deleted unless linked to a case.
Parker said the University of Washington’s Leaving the Door Wide Open report found that Olympia’s Flock network was among those that weren’t accessed by border patrol in 2025. She said this finding “confirms that Olympia’s restrictive configuration functions exactly as intended, protecting community data while maintaining investigative capabilities.”
Despite this, she said the Nov. 6 Skagit County Superior Court decision that the camera data is subject to the state’s public records act has led to an increase in records requests. There have been 10 requests since the start of the program, she said.
Parker said OPD’s cameras capture roughly 4 million images every 30 days, and each one of those is subject to the city’s electronic records policy. At five cents per four images, a complete 30-day release of OPD’s Flock records would cost roughly $50,000, Parker said.
She said folks can make an appointment to view the records in person at no cost, provided they’re not requesting physical copies of the images. The data is not real time and is dated by the time it’s released through public records requests, she said. How did Olympia police use the Flock system?
Parker said since August 2024 Flock has assisted in 112 arrests, including 29 stolen vehicle recoveries, six investigations of homicides or attempted homicides, 39 assault/domestic violence cases and more.
She said when a public records request includes a specific license plate, records staff can check that plate against OPD’s record system to see if it is linked to a survivor. She said if it is, police can notify that person that a request involving their information has been made, and an investigation might ensue.
Parker highlighted a few specific cases where OPD used Flock technology. The first was a recent case of a woman who woke up to find a man inside her apartment.
“As detectives began investigating the case, they recognized similarities to several other incidents that had occurred across Olympia and Lacey,” Parker said. “Surveillance footage from the area, combined with Flock’s camera data, helped identify a vehicle connected to the suspect, a black Volkswagen sedan. That information led investigators to a residence in Lacey where, with further investigation, they were able to identify and arrest the individual responsible.”
Parker said the system also supported a homicide investigation in Thurston County. She said the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office was investigating a kidnapping and homicide of a resident. Park explained that the suspect said he had been home during the crime, but Flock showed he wasn’t.
Parker said OPD won’t be able to conduct investigations as efficiently without the Flock system.
“Without it, officers would face delays in identifying and locating suspects of violent crimes, property crimes and missing person cases,” Parker said. “Information we currently receive within minutes could take hours, and in some instances, may not surface at all.”
She said without the program there would also be a reduction in collaboration between jurisdictions, since data is shared and accessible between agencies. The city uses a two-factor authentication process for those who are authorized to access the system. She said that way, there’s a paper trail of those who use Flock’s information.
However, Parker said the concerns the community has raised about privacy and immigration enforcement are real, and she shares those concerns. She said Olympia officers consistently follow the rules around the Flock program, and the values laid out in the city’s Reimagining Public Safety plan.
“Our responsibility is to support a public safety system that fosters trust and works for everyone,” she said. “This includes stepping back when necessary to evaluate emerging risks, listening to community concerns and making decisions grounded in transparency and equity.”
Parker said despite the city’s system being secure, the federal landscape around data access is changing. She said the program won’t be entirely terminated, but suspended until more is known about the changing information landscape.
“This was not a simple conclusion to reach, nor an easy recommendation to make, but our community’s trust is too important to risk,” Parker said.
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