The Harris County Sheriff’s Office blocked three deputies from using Flock cameras while the agency investigates whether they misused the technology, officials with the agency said Friday.
A USA Today reporter on Friday contacted the department about several deputies’ use of the license plate camera readers from Flock Safety, according to a news release from the agency. The sheriff’s office launched an internal review into those law enforcement officers and suspended their access to the county’s Flock system.
The department did not identify the deputies who were blocked or provide details on the allegations of how they might have misused the system. Officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The sheriff’s office, which has 480 cameras in its network, said it is releasing an auditing tool to better monitor deputies’ use of the license plate reader technology and investigate any questionable activity.
“But as with any powerful new public safety tool, this technology is subject to abuse,” said Sheriff Ed Gonzalez in the news release. “We are committed to showing our community that the Harris County Sheriff’s Office can be trusted to use this technology appropriately, and that we hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards. Any deputy who abuses the public trust will be held fully accountable, both professionally and criminally.”
The agency said deputies will also be required to report why they want to use the camera system before being given access. The aim is to help the sheriff’s office log when the technology is being used and why.
Over the past month, the surveillance technology has faced controversy in both Texas and statewide due to how the technology can be used to violate individuals’ privacy. In the Houston area, Baytown, Deer Park, Pasadena and Fort Bend County law enforcement agencies have launched investigations into personnel over allegations that officers misused the cameras.
Flock Safety announced Thursday that it would make changes to how the system is accessed and how long it retains camera data to improve accountability. One of those changes includes requiring all law enforcement customers to implement an auditing tool to flag abnormal search behavior.