NOT FOR ICE RAID Tech: YPD Says License Plate Readers Strictly Off-Limits

We know that police departments across America have adapted to using the newest technology that lets certain cop cars read license plates as people drive by. What you might not know is that many cities are legally not allowed to use this tech to help federal immigration enforcement.

Several of the YPD police cars and locations with Flock cams have been approved by the Yakima City Council. Several cities in Washington, including small towns like Wenatchee, are equipped with these plate-reading cameras as well.

The Yakima Police Flock Camera Transparency Portal

Every thirty days, the Yakima Police Department updates their transparent data report about how many license plates have been "read" by flock cameras and which crimes the license plates scanned drivers for.

I noticed the Flock cams picked up scans for drivers wanted for crimes like assault and battery and at least two vehicles wanted for searches of missing persons. The most shocking thing the report shows is that within the past 30 days in Yakima, our plate readers detected cars belonging to alleged wanted federal fugitives.

Over 40 license plates scanned popped up for stolen vehicles-that is just wild to me!

The Yakima Police Department has a standing transparent policy that they cannot use their license plate reading technology to scan for cars owned by undocumented residents.

You can glean a lot from this report!