Flock Cameras Face Growing Backlash across Texas Counties, but Getting Rid of Them Is Complicated

By Stephen Simpson, Houston Regional Reporter, THE TEXAS TRIBUNE

  Atlanta-based Flock Safety is the camera system many counties use and is the company facing the most backlash. Flock uses artificial intelligence to scan every vehicle that passes by a camera, uploading plate numbers, car models, color, and even bumper stickers to the country’s largest vehicle surveillance database. Law enforcement agencies that contract with the company — here and across the U.S. — can search the accumulated database with a few keystrokes and without a warrant.

 Even if county officials vote to end a Flock contract, it wouldn’t necessarily get rid of all the cameras since municipal districts, homeowners associations, cities, retail stores and more have their own agreements with the company and getting them all on the same page can be difficult.

 The mixture of contracts means county officials will have to somehow find every person who owns a system and get them to agree to break their contract with Flock, a daunting task.

  Critics argue that elected officials should be more communicative about the policies they have in place for the cameras and explain their approach to how they are used, especially after Flock Safety has begun adjusting its own policies nationally.

  While counties deal with the blowback, some government officials and law enforcement agencies are doubling down on Flock, believing the system’s usefulness in solving crimes outweighs the privacy concerns.

  The Texas Department of Public Safety approved a $26 million contract with Flock last year to surveil state roads and support Operation Lone Star, the state’s multibillion-dollar effort to curb unauthorized immigration and fortify the border.