Dallas could reconsider its use of Flock Safety license plate-reading cameras as a City Council member pushes to pull $1.5 million in funding from the program.<\/p>\n
Dallas police have stationary license plate-reading cameras spread across 670 locations citywide. The technology, previously used by the department in its vehicles, was installed on stationary cameras last year as part of a $5.7 million contract between the city and Flock Safety.<\/p>\n
Dallas City Council member Adam Bazaldua said the program deserves more scrutiny.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to be willing to pump the brakes and admit when maybe this technology hasn\u2019t yet been vetted to the level that we would like,\u201d Bazaldua said.<\/p>\n
Bazaldua said he plans to introduce an amendment Wednesday that would remove $1.5 million in city funding for the Flock camera program from next year\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would, essentially, terminate the contract,\u201d Bazaldua said.<\/p>\n
The contract is already facing uncertainty after Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday ordered state agencies to stop funding Flock cameras. The technology has faced increased scrutiny amid allegations nationally of police misuse and concerns about oversight of authorities\u2019 ability to track motorists.<\/p>\n
Dallas police, however, say the cameras have proven useful as an investigative tool. The department said the technology has helped solve 13% of business robbery cases and 12 homicides this year.<\/p>\n
Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux told NBC 5 earlier this month that he supports the department\u2019s use of the cameras.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one that has helped solve crimes throughout Dallas \u2013 and it will continue to help solve crimes throughout Dallas,” Comeaux said in August.<\/p>\n
A Dallas police spokesperson said Monday that if the city pulls funding, the department will not know the full impact until it reviews updated guidance from the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cDPD has not received official guidance regarding how the decision will affect existing grant funding, previously purchased cameras, or future expenditures associated with Dallas\u2019 program.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flock Safety also defended the responsible use of the technology.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe support thoughtful legislation and strong privacy, transparency, and accountability guardrails that ensure technology is used responsibly while preserving law enforcement\u2019s ability to use effective tools to keep people safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bazaldua said the council must now consider whether the program is financially sustainable without state funding.<\/p>\n
“If we don\u2019t have the state funds, is this a sustainable program, anyway?\u201d Bazaldua asked.<\/p>\n
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC DFW. AI tools helped convert the story into a digital article, and an NBC DFW journalist edited it again before publication.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dallas could reconsider its use of Flock Safety license plate-reading cameras as a City Council member pushes to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":422420,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,104,103],"class_list":["post-422419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=422419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422419\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/422420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=422419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=422419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=422419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}