HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones is decommissioning all 61 Flock surveillance cameras and license plate readers under Precinct 4’s control, citing residents’ concerns about privacy, access to collected data, and potential misuse.<\/p>\n
The cameras, located across nine precinct parks and facilities, were covered Thursday, according to Erin Mincberg Spiegel, the precinct’s Chief Public Affairs Officer.<\/p>\n
The shutdown affects only cameras controlled by Precinct 4, not privately owned Flock cameras operating elsewhere in the area. The precinct stretches across western Harris County, from neighborhoods inside Houston’s Loop to the county’s far northwestern edge.<\/p>\n
Documents obtained by 13 Investigates show Flock billed Precinct 4 nearly $175,000 for its camera network and other fees in 2025.<\/p>\n
Briones declined an interview request. Speaking on behalf of the commissioner’s office, Spiegel said residents had raised questions about how the surveillance system operates.<\/p>\n
“The residents have raised serious questions about who can access this data, what vendors can disclose, improper searches, and records being kept after data expires,” Spiegel said.<\/p>\n
According to Spiegel, the affected parks will no longer have security cameras following the decommissioning. Field cameras used for other purposes will remain.<\/p>\n
“For example, in George Bush Park, we have an extensive feral hog population,” Spiegel said. “So we do have field cameras. Those are closed-circuit; there’s no data sharing.”<\/p>\n
The decision comes amid a broader debate over whether Flock cameras’ benefits for criminal investigations outweigh concerns about surveillance. A September Marquette poll found that 39% of Americans viewed the cameras as an important police investigative tool, while 61% considered them unacceptable violations of privacy rights.<\/p>\n
Park visitors expressed mixed reactions Thursday.<\/p>\n
“I’m kind of 50-50 on it right now,” Eric Shernell said, pointing to both the cameras’ role in finding criminals and concerns about privacy invasion.<\/p>\n
Another park visitor, Damien Preston, questioned their necessity.<\/p>\n
“We don’t need to pay for cameras to keep us quote-unquote safe,” Preston said.<\/p>\n
Although taking this stance now, Briones previously acknowledged both sides of the issue. In May, she said Flock cameras helped authorities apprehend people who shot two members of her team near a park. But she also emphasized that authorities must respect constitutional rights and privacy.<\/p>\n
Briones’ opponent in the upcoming November election, former Houston Police Department sergeant Steve Radack, criticized the decommissioning, saying it could hurt law enforcement’s ability to investigate crimes in parks.<\/p>\n
“Just to shut them down doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me at all,” Radack said. “The problem is, when you all of a sudden say, we’re not going to have cameras, for example, in the parks, I mean, there’s a lot of people who try to commit crimes in parks.”<\/p>\n
The commissioner’s office said it communicated with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and precinct constables throughout the week to avoid interrupting daily operations.<\/p>\n
The Precinct 4 Constable’s Office said it is too soon to determine whether losing access to the cameras will affect its ability to solve crimes.<\/p>\n
Commissioners Court is scheduled to discuss Flock privacy concerns next Thursday, Oct. 15.<\/p>\n
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