Flock Safety has a contract with Bexar County, and 35 of its license-plate-reading cameras are placed throughout the county.
Austin American-Statesman/Hearst/Austin American-Statesman via Ge
High-tech security cameras have quietly taken over U.S. cities in recent years, scanning license plates and tipping off local law enforcement agencies to potential criminal activity.
In addition to scanning license plates, the cameras can identify vehicles’ make, model, color and other visible details. They’ve been used to solve crimes but have come under recent scrutiny as awareness about their use has grown.
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One company in particular has drawn the public’s ire: Flock Safety. It’s perhaps the most well-known purveyor of automated license plate recognition cameras. The company says its cameras operate in more than 6,000 communities across 49 states.
Concern about unchecked mass surveillance has inspired a more-than-decade-long campaign from the American Civil Liberties Union in an effort to get local governments to cancel their contracts with ALPR companies.
Should law enforcement agencies use high-tech, license-plate-reading cameras (such as Flock cameras) to combat crime?
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office has installed 35 Flock cameras throughout the county. The San Antonio Police Department has a contract with a different ALPR vendor, Axon.
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Flock’s contract with Bexar County began in May 2025, and the cameras were installed beginning in November of that year. Flock Safety did not respond to interview requests for this story.
The sheriff’s office said it determined where to place the cameras based on an analysis of areas with high rates of property and violent crime.
Despite the controversy, law enforcement agencies say the cameras have proven their worth and have become an increasingly vital tool in combating crime.
“In the past few weeks alone, leads generated through Flock have helped identify suspects in armed robberies, homicides, stolen vehicles and narcotic distribution cases,” said Deputy Joshua Hamby, spokesperson for the sheriff’s office. He emphasized that Flock is one of several tools they use to generate investigative leads.
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Why are Flock cameras sparking controversy?
Flock cameras and other ALPRs have drawn criticism from civil liberties advocates who say the cameras have wrongfully implicated people in crimes. Organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union claim the cameras have been used in ways that lack transparency, accountability and oversight into how the data is collected, used and stored.
Sarah Beebe, a senior supervising attorney for Texas Civil Rights Project, said law enforcement agencies have used ALPRs in disparate ways, with some uses raising major Fourth Amendment concerns.
Some individuals have had their license plates misread and have been wrongfully identified as investigation subjects, Beebe said. She said it’s unclear whether prohibited uses outlined in Bexar County’s Flock Safety policy are being reinforced with staff.
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“This is such a powerful tool that if you don’t have these guardrails around exactly who can look at it, what they can do with it, the purpose of the search — that is dangerous,” Bebee said. “This type of mass surveillance is exactly that, it is an unreasonable search of citizens as they are active in the community.”
These privacy and due-process concerns have spread throughout social media, and some San Antonio-area residents have become mobilized in opposing the license-plate-reading cameras. Some have gone to more extreme measures.
Backlash against the use of Flock cameras has become so prevalent that the company has seen many of its cameras vandalized, including in San Antonio.
“This has increasingly become a concern not only for our agency but for other law enforcement agencies utilizing similar technology,” Hamby said.
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Law enforcement agencies use the cameras to generate leads in criminal investigations. Those leads are playing significant parts in ultimately bringing people to justice.
For its part, SAPD said it aims to balance effective law enforcement with protecting people’s rights and privacy.
Case study
In May, Flock cameras played a key role in the arrests of six men in connection with an aggravated robbery and theft case, Hamby said.
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Three individuals violently entered a home on May 7, leaving a victim struck in the face by a handgun, according to the sheriff’s office.
The three suspects are accused of stealing rifles, video game consoles, a thermal optic scope, expensive footwear and a Ford Raptor truck, according to an arrest affidavit.
Victims provided the serial number of the stolen scope to investigators. It was discovered to have been sold six days after the incident at River City Pawn Shop.
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Surveillance footage helped police identify several suspects as well as a vehicle arriving at the shop.
“Flock assisted us in locating the suspect vehicle, which helped us locate the suspect and evidence of the offense,” Hamby said.