‘There’s a way to work around that’: Ursula believes Lynnwood could have kept Flock cameras with safeguards

Lynnwood ended its contract with Flock Safety for license plate reader cameras, citing privacy concerns and the potential for unauthorized data access, KIRO 7 reported Tuesday.

KIRO host Ursula Reutin said she understands residents’ concerns, but thinks Lynnwood could have kept the cameras with the right safeguards.

“I understand where cities are taking the precautions. But again, I think that there’s a way to work around that, and I think it’s just a very difficult moment right now to try to convince people that this would be the case,” she said on “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio.

Ursula used the Seattle Police Department (SPD) as an example, noting SPD has more than 400 patrol cars with license plate reader cameras, but the Seattle City Council restricts who can access that data, which is fed to the city’s Real-Time Crime Center.

SPD policy also requires the data to be deleted within 24 hours, unless it is flagged in a hotlist that helps law enforcement.

“So putting the precautions in there, I think, could help,” Ursula said. “I don’t know that that’s going to be enough for some people, but for me, it’s like if something were to happen to a loved one.”

Ursula also pointed to the case of missing Nancy Guthrie, the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie.

“You’d want access to cameras, and you’d want the ability to have any cameras available,” she said.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.