Austin, Pflugerville drop Flock cameras over misrepresentation
By ยท Updated 1 Oct 2026
8 September 2026. [AI first draft. Verify every fact against the source before publishing.]
This summer, Flock Safety's automatic license plate-reading cameras became a major issue across Texas as cities and police departments moved to terminate contracts. The backlash prompted Governor Greg Abbott to pause state funding for new Flock cameras in August, describing the mass cancellations as a "crackdown" on the technology. Austin voted last year to end its municipal contract with Flock, and other jurisdictions including Pflugerville have recently followed suit.
Concerns driving the departures include allegations that Flock misrepresented its services to police departments, the company's ownership and control of all captured images, data-sharing arrangements that lack formal agreements, and documented cases of officers abusing the system to surveil individuals. Despite these issues, several Central Texas agencies continue operating Flock cameras. Round Rock Police Department maintains the largest active deployment in the region with 43 readers that scanned more than 676,000 vehicles in one month and shared data with 1,453 agencies, though more than half were located outside Texas [verify: data-sharing agreement numbers]. Round Rock Police Chief Allen Banks stated the department has recently restricted employee access to the platform and remains in constant communication with Flock, saying he has no plans to discontinue use unless city council directs otherwise. Georgetown has announced plans to install cameras but has not yet done so, while Liberty Hill and Bastrop police have signaled intentions to end their programs.
Beyond municipal police contracts, Flock cameras operate through private entities including shopping malls and big-box retailers, and the Texas Department of Public Safety maintains a statewide camera network sharing data with more than 200 law enforcement agencies. Residents interested in their municipality's surveillance camera policies can check city council agendas for contract renewal votes, request records on data-sharing agreements, and monitor police department transparency portals for active camera deployments.
Read the original reporting: KUT Radio, Austin's NPR Station.
Related record: Austin, Texas in the jurisdictions directory.