This summer, Flock Safety’s license plate-reading cameras became a contentious topic for Texans of every stripe. Cities and police departments across the state have dropped the AI-empowered cameras that scan and catalog license plates in the hopes of preventing and solving crimes. <\/p>\n
People have found a lot to dislike about these cameras \u2014 and Flock. The company has been accused of lying<\/a> to police departments and local leaders. They own all of the images from these cameras, so police can\u2019t always control<\/a> where that data ends up. And on top of that, some police officers have abused the technology<\/a> to stalk people. KUT reached out to Flock Safety for this story but did not hear back.<\/p>\n The backlash even pushed Gov. Greg Abbott to pause all state funding for new Flock cameras late last month. In an interview with conservative talk show host Glenn Beck, Abbott called the mass cancellation of county and municipal contracts with Flock a “crackdown.”<\/p>\n “The Flock cameras are being reduced dramatically, and they’re going to be required to be used responsibly if they’re used at all,” Abbott said.<\/p>\n But the cameras are still in use throughout Central Texas.<\/p>\n Where is Flock in Central Texas?<\/p>\n For one, there are private Flock cameras all over the city. Malls like Barton Creek Square and the Domain have them. Plenty of HOAs have cameras, too, as do big-box stores like\u00a0Home Depot and Academy.<\/p>\n The Texas Department of Public Safety also operates a network of cameras across the state, including along state-owned roadways in Austin. DPS shares that data directly with more than 200 law enforcement agencies<\/a> in Texas, according to a list shared with KUT by state police. <\/p>\n The department also shares some Flock data with agencies, like the Austin Police Department, in joint investigations on a case-by-case basis. Austin voted last year to end<\/a> its contract with Flock, and it doesn\u2019t have direct access to Flock’s searchable database.<\/p>\n Several local law enforcement agencies are also still using the license plate readers. Here’s a list of Central Texas departments still using Flock: <\/p>\n Hutto Police DepartmentBastrop County Sheriff’s OfficeTaylor Police DepartmentKyle Police DepartmentBuda Police DepartmentLakeway Police DepartmentCedar Park Police DepartmentRound Rock Police Department<\/p>\n Georgetown has plans to set up Flock cameras but has not yet done so, while both Liberty Hill<\/a> and Bastrop<\/a> police have signaled they plan on ending their programs this week.<\/p>\n Of all the local police still using Flock cameras, the Round Rock Police Department has the biggest footprint. Its 43 license plate-readers clocked more than 676,000 vehicles in the last month, and the department shared data with 1,453 agencies, according to the Round Rock Police Department\u2019s transparency portal<\/a> operated by Flock.<\/p>\n More than half of the agencies that received Flock data from Round Rock were not located in Texas. The department decides whether those agencies have approval from Flock to view license plate data, but they do not all have written agreements in place.<\/p>\n Round Rock\u2019s total dwarfs the number of shares that pushed Pflugerville to end<\/a> its partnership with Flock. Before canceling its Flock contract in late August, Pflugerville discovered<\/a> its police shared data with more than 400 agencies but only 83 had formal data-sharing agreements with the department.<\/p>\n Round Rock Police Chief Allen Banks said the department has recently limited the number of employees that can input data into the platform and his department is in “constant communication” with Flock. Banks said “unless there’s a change or City Council tells us otherwise,” he has no plans to stop using the license plate-readers.<\/p>\n “We will not make everybody happy,” Banks told KUT. “We won’t \u2026 but I also have an obligation to take care of of our community. And if somebody commits a crime \u2026 it’s our job to hold them accountable.”<\/p>\n What’s next?<\/p>\n