DALLAS, Texas — Dallas will keep more than 300 Flock Safety cameras that officials had planned to remove after the surveillance company offered a 90-day payment pause for agencies affected by Gov. Greg Abbott’s freeze on state funding for the devices.
At least two other cities and one county — Addison, New Braunfels and Johnson County — also received extensions that allow them to keep cameras funded through state grants, according to local government presentations and agency statements.
Local officials in those communities said they likely would have shut down the affected cameras without Flock’s payment pause.
The 90-day arrangement comes as Abbott’s office has not said how long the state funding freeze will remain in place. Some local officials have expressed hope that state funding will resume after the Nov. 3 election.
“We’re so close to that November election that I think it would be a little premature for us to pull the plug without seeing where this is going to go,” Johnson County Commissioner Rick Bailey said during a Sept. 14 meeting.
Bailey later told the Texas Tribune that he viewed the funding pause as political.
Abbott’s office did not respond to questions about Flock’s decision to suspend payments or whether the state plans to restore funding.
Abbott halted state funding for Flock cameras in late August after the Texas Tribune reported that a state agency had directed at least $30 million toward more than 3,200 cameras across Texas.
The funding freeze has since led cities and counties to shut down hundreds of cameras. Abbott also directed the Texas Department of Transportation to pause the installation of new license plate readers along state roads and highways, although existing cameras can remain operational.
Flock Safety, an Atlanta-based company, has not said whether its 90-day extensions apply statewide or depend on individual agreements.
Dallas keeps cameras operating
The 90-day payment pause will allow Dallas to restore nearly half of its Flock camera network.
Dallas police had said earlier in September that the department would unplug the cameras without state grant funding. Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley met with Dallas police Wednesday, after which the department announced that the grant-funded cameras would remain operational.
A Dallas police spokesperson said the department did not have additional information about what will happen to the cameras after the 90-day period.
Flock’s arrangement allows affected departments to maintain access to their cameras without making payments during the 90-day period while they look for other funding sources.
In Addison, Police Chief Chris Freis told the City Council that the department met with Flock on Sept. 10 and learned about the payment pause.
“Flock is very much seemingly taking the advice of, sit and wait and see what shakes out at the state level and then go from there,” Freis said.
Officials in Addison, New Braunfels and Johnson County said Flock also told them they could leave contracts for affected cameras without penalties if state funding does not return after the 90-day pause.
Cities weigh costs after state funding freeze
All four jurisdictions receiving the extensions used reimbursement grants from the Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority to fund their Flock cameras. The authority operates under a board largely appointed by Abbott.
The funding freeze has also affected communities that already spent local money on camera contracts while expecting reimbursement through the state grant program.
Johnson County said it had about $500,000 in local taxpayer money committed to the cameras while awaiting reimbursement.
Other communities have already removed their cameras. El Paso City Council members voted to take down 150 cameras funded through the vehicle authority, while 13 other cities and counties have also shut down cameras since Abbott imposed the funding freeze.
The state-funded network also includes more than 900 Flock cameras operated by the Texas Department of Public Safety. More than 3,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide accessed data from those cameras during June, with searches occurring as frequently as every four seconds, according to the Texas Tribune.
DPS has said it will keep its existing cameras but has not explained how long they will remain operational or how the agency will fund them. A $15 million contract with the vehicle authority covered almost all of DPS’ more than 900 cameras, and the agency had planned to install hundreds more before the funding freeze.
Debate over surveillance continues
Flock cameras capture information from passing vehicles, including license plate data, vehicle make and model, dents and bumper stickers.
Law enforcement agencies across Texas have promoted the technology as a tool for investigating and reducing crime. Privacy advocates, meanwhile, have raised concerns about the amount of information the cameras collect and the potential for misuse.
The debate has drawn criticism and proposed restrictions from lawmakers in both major political parties.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa has criticized Abbott over the state’s role in funding Flock cameras and has highlighted DPS’ use of the technology during her campaign.
“It’s the governor’s agencies that answer to him, who are sending out this money and paying for these Flock cameras across the state,” Hinojosa said in a September interview with the Texas Tribune.
Several Democratic and Republican lawmakers have said they plan to introduce legislation that would restrict or ban the cameras in Texas. Law enforcement leaders have said losing the technology could affect their ability to investigate crime while also supporting regulations governing its use.
Bailey said Johnson County considers the cameras an important law enforcement tool but acknowledged that the county could face difficulties maintaining them without state funding.
“Anything that helps assist us with law enforcement and not have to go to the taxpayers to increase property taxes to hire more individuals is good for Texas,” he said.