Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority board mostly appointed by Abbott
The Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority, a Texas state agency whose board is mostly appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott, has directed at least $30 million from a $1 mandatory auto insurance fee toward expanding Flock Safety’s automated license-plate reader network across the state, according to an analysis by The Texas Tribune published Monday.
The Texas Legislature passed the fee in 2023 with unanimous support to combat catalytic converter theft. Three years later, the agency has used the revenue to fund at least 3,200 Flock cameras placed along highways and streets from El Paso to the Louisiana border.
The spending breaks into two streams, the Tribune’s analysis found. The agency has awarded no fewer than 95 grants to law enforcement agencies to purchase and maintain about 2,000 Flock cameras. Separately, $15.9 million is helping the Texas Department of Public Safety add almost 1,200 cameras.
The expansion is set to continue. In early August, the authority approved another $3 million to help DPS install 583 more cameras along Texas tollways over the next year.
The redirection of a fee approved to address catalytic converter theft toward license-plate reader expansion comes as jurisdictions in other states have canceled their relationships with Flock over privacy concerns and documented misuse.
As MSI reported earlier in August, Flock Safety announced revisions to its platform amid cancellations by cities and law enforcement agencies, and vandalism of the company’s cameras was documented in at least 36 states as opposition grew. The Texas fee-funded expansion reported today adds a state-level push to the network’s growth during the same period.