Regulating the “Wild West” Washington lawmakers have passed Senate Bill 6002, a measure intended to bring order to what some officials described as the “wild west” of surveillance. The bill establishes clear limits on how long police can keep license plate data and under what circumstances they can use it. Under the new rules, most data must be deleted within 21 days unless it is specifically needed as evidence for a criminal investigation.+1
Balanced Enforcement and Privacy While the original proposal sought a strict 72-hour deletion window, the final version extended the period to three weeks to assist investigators. Police are authorized to use the readers to track down stolen vehicles, find missing persons, and investigate both felonies and gross misdemeanors. However, to protect civil liberties, the cameras are prohibited from being deployed near “sensitive” locations, including schools, churches, and immigration facilities.
Restricting Surveillance Overreach The legislation also addresses fears of data being weaponized for non-criminal matters. It explicitly bans the use of license plate readers for civil immigration enforcement and prevents the sharing of data with federal or out-of-state agencies for that purpose. Additionally, to protect residents from potential stalking or harassment, the bill exempts most of this footage from public disclosure requests.+1
Accountability and Future Implementation To ensure long-term compliance, the state attorney general is tasked with developing model policies by mid-2027, which all local agencies must adopt by the end of that year. While some privacy advocates argue the bill doesn’t go far enough to limit mass surveillance, many lawmakers view it as a critical step in modernizing state law to keep pace with rapidly advancing police technology.
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