Centralia police chief issues statement on department's use of Flock Safety cameras

Editor’s note: The cities of Centralia, Chehalis and Napavine all use the Flock Safety camera system. Last month, it was reported that U.S. Border Patrol accessed the cameras in Centralia and Chehalis through a “back door” pilot program. This statement from Centralia Police Chief Andy Caldwell has come in response to community discussions over use of the cameras.

As chief of police, I am proud of our department and how our officers use tools to protect our residents, solve crimes and bring justice to victims. At the same time, we recognize the importance of transparency and accountability in balancing the use of new law enforcement tools with the trust we are given to protect our community while upholding privacy and constitutional rights.

Flock Safety is a targeted investigative tool that captures images of the rear portions of vehicles with license plates to help identify suspects who commit crimes against our community. Flock Safety has been instrumental in resolving cases that might otherwise go unsolved, from murders and assaults to hit-and-runs and drug investigations. By focusing on vehicle identifiers, Flock allows our officers to identify criminals who prey on the innocent for personal gain, without intruding into the daily lives of law-abiding citizens.

I understand that some in our community have genuine concerns about surveillance technologies, and I welcome the opportunity to address those concerns. Narratives portraying Flock as an overreaching “Big Brother” system often stem from misinformation or conflate its narrow, vehicle-specific function with broader fears. For instance, claims suggesting the system enables warrantless biometric tracking or demographic profiling are untrue. Flock's cameras capture the rear portion of vehicles and do not allow searches of facial images, individuals on foot, or analysis of personal characteristics such as race, gender or ethnicity. To illustrate, consider the attached image captured by one of our Flock cameras (see photo below).

This demonstrates our system's limited scope of back-of-vehicle data, used exclusively for legitimate law enforcement purposes.

In Washington state, Flock Safety includes built-in filters that automatically exclude our devices from any searches connected to immigration enforcement. Our use of Flock is governed by Centralia Police Department policy, which treats it as protected information. Access is limited to trained personnel with a valid work-related need, and unauthorized use for personal curiosity or any non-legitimate reason is prohibited, with potential administrative consequences. Furthermore, state law and our policy forbid the use of the system based on protected classifications, including race, gender, religion, political affiliation, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation or disability. These safeguards, coupled with timely data deletion (30 days unless tied to an active investigation), strict access logs and purpose-specific limitations, prevent misuse and uphold the impartial justice our community deserves.

To build even greater trust, the Centralia Police Department is taking a proactive step toward increasing transparency. Beginning Dec. 1, we will publish bi-monthly audits of our Flock Safety usage directly on the Centralia Police Department website (https://www.cityofcentralia.com/254/Police). These reports, drawn from Flock's comprehensive activity logs, will detail the date and time of each query, along with a brief description of its purpose, such as supporting a burglary investigation or hit-and-run response.

Audits will be posted on the first and 15th of each month (or the next business day), providing visibility into how this tool serves our mission.

As concerns persist from sources like the recent University of Washington report, I want to reassure our residents that the Centralia Police Department stands firm as a defender of privacy and due process. Public safety tools like Flock are not deployed to erode freedoms but to protect them, aiding real victims harmed by those who exploit vulnerability.

It is a precise instrument for accountability, checked by policy, law and our professional ethic.