Flock cameras are watching the roads across Fort Worth, but the police chief wants the people that they’ve sworn to protect and serve to know that officers are being watched too.

Fort Worth Police Chief Eddie Garcia spoke exclusively to WFAA TV about the rules governing how his department uses the controversial license plate reader technology.

“Misuse certainly hurts the credibility of departments that do that,” Garcia said.

Garcia answered questions about what information Fort Worth’s Flock cameras collect. He also shared that his department now has a new tool to monitor officer use of the Flock camera data. The technology, known as automated license plate readers, captures information about vehicles as they pass the cameras.

Garcia is also considering ways his department can better educate the public on exactly what Flock technology collects, hoping to combat misinformation.

“What state it’s registered to. It’ll tell us the different markings on the car. It doesn’t look for speed, and it also gives us no information on the driver either,” Garcia said.

Fort Worth Police has nearly 300 Flock cameras across the city. The information collected is stored for 30 days.

One of those cameras was recently installed at Altamesa Boulevard and Crowley Road in southwest Fort Worth.

“Wow, they’re putting them everywhere now,” Fort Worth resident Jimmy Taylor said.

Taylor noticed the camera right away. He is a huge supporter of freedom, and you will often see him wearing a Second Amendment T-shirt. He says he is concerned about how the technology could be used to track where people travel.

“Our amendments state that we should be able to drive without law enforcement, FBI, CIA, or whoever else is looking into what we’re doing and where we got to go,” Taylor said.

Those concerns are also being raised by the grassroots organization Deflock-DFW, which says, “YOUR MOVEMENTS ARE TRACKED WITHOUT YOUR CONSENT.” DeFlock DFW holds monthly meetings around the metroplex to help give concerned citizens a voice.

But Garcia argues Flock cameras have become an important crime-fighting tool for Fort Worth police more than ever before.

“Since 2020, this department’s made over 2200 arrests that have had the assistance from this type of technology,” Garcia said.

That includes a May 2024 case in which police say Flock technology helped locate a shooting suspect who also opened fire on an officer before being arrested.

But with concerns about potential misuse, Garcia recently sent a video message to every Fort Worth police officer emphasizing the department’s rules and accountability.

“We’re holding ourselves accountable,” Garcia said.

While Garcia admits he cannot guarantee there will never be any misuse of the technology, he has also stressed it will not be tolerated. Individuals who do so in his department will be dealt with, says Garcia.

Taylor agrees there are situations where the technology can help solve serious crimes.

“As far as child abductions and stuff like that, they get the kids back, maybe to work,” Taylor said.

But he says that does not change his concern about having his vehicle information collected when he is simply driving around Fort Worth.

The discussions about Flock Camera technology are far and wide. Chief Garcia will be part of a panel of police chiefs who will discuss proper usage, more accountability, effectiveness, along with the pros and cons of having automated license plate readers in their communities.

Either way, it’s a crime-fighting tool Fort Worth’s top cop doesn’t want to do without.

“I’ve been in law enforcement for over 34 years. I’ve been through the dark ages of law enforcement,” said Chief Eddie Garcia. “This is an invaluable tool that brings justice to our victims. It assists my officers, and it is helping reduce violent crime not only in the city of Fort Worth, but nationally.”