Texas halts new Flock camera permits along state roads

Permit pause follows Abbott’s August funding freeze and Tribune investigation

The Texas Department of Transportation has paused the issuance of permits for Flock cameras and other automated license plate readers along state roads, at the direction of Republican Governor Greg Abbott. An agency spokesperson confirmed the suspension on Thursday.

The pause applies to new permit applications and to agreements that have been approved but not yet installed, the spokesperson said. It does not affect cameras already installed along state rights-of-way, including more than 900 cameras operated by the Texas Department of Public Safety.

“TxDOT’s role is to review permits to ensure license plate readers are installed correctly and safely along state-owned roadways,” an agency spokesperson said in a statement. “This suspension also includes agreements that are approved but not yet installed.”

The agency said it approves permits for the cameras but does not install the devices and does not have access to data from Flock cameras installed along state roads. A presentation about Flock cameras from the police chief in Schertz, a city northeast of San Antonio, said the pause began on 8 September. TxDOT did not immediately confirm the start date.

The cameras scan all passing vehicles to compile license plate numbers and other identifying data into a searchable database. Their expanding use has drawn increasing privacy concerns.

TxDOT’s pause followed Abbott’s late August order blocking state funding for Flock cameras. The funding freeze came as the Texas Tribune prepared to publish an investigation into a small state agency that directed at least $30 million to help fund more than 3,200 Flock cameras across the state. There were an estimated 13,000 Flock cameras across Texas in August, and hundreds of the devices have been shut down since the funding freeze.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, also a Republican, ordered his state’s transportation department on 31 August to remove Flock cameras from state roads, saying he did not want “a surveillance state.”

City councils and county commissions across Texas have also unplugged cameras in response to resident pressure citing privacy concerns and a growing number of cases in which police were arrested or investigated for misusing Flock cameras to stalk people.

Law enforcement agencies have defended the cameras as a highly effective crime-solving tool that can reduce vehicle theft and help locate missing people.