At least 23 Texas local governments have ended a Flock Safety contract, declined renewal, suspended service or reduced an existing camera network, according to an independent review by The Dallas Express of municipal records, council agendas, meeting minutes and police statements completed Sept. 6.
The count covers 18 cities and five counties. Seventeen governments ended or declined agreements. Six suspended, disabled or reduced service. The review excludes school districts, private networks, rejected first-time proposals and governments that only paused future expansion.
The retreat accelerated after Gov. Greg Abbott froze state-agency spending on Flock cameras Aug. 27. His action stopped state funding and future installations, not every existing camera. Cities may continue paying for Flock with local or federal money.
Twenty-three governments pull back
Eleven governments ended agreements: Austin, Hays County, San Marcos, Bandera, Aransas Pass, Guadalupe County, Lago Vista, Ingleside, Manor, Leander and Hood County, which The Dallas Express previously reported had shut down its cameras over privacy and mass-surveillance concerns.
Six declined renewal: Sunset Valley, Magnolia, Kendall County, Pflugerville, Wylie and Robinson. Some remain active until contracts expire.
Six took narrower action. Burnet County removed fixed task-force cameras while portable, municipal and private units could remain. Bastrop covered 12 city cameras pending a termination decision. Lufkin suspended use during an alleged-misuse investigation. Elgin paused 25 cameras and a mobile trailer.
El Paso halted a 150-camera state-funded program. Dallas will cancel 321 state-grant cameras Sept. 15 but keep more than 300 supported by other money.
The numbers count government actions, not every device inside a jurisdiction. A county vote does not remove municipal, state or private cameras there, and a nonrenewal may not take effect immediately.
State grid remains
Abbott’s spokesman confirmed the freeze after reporting showed that the Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority had directed at least $30 million toward more than 3,200 cameras since 2023. A proposed $15.9 million expansion covered nearly 1,200 DPS cameras.
Abbott said Sept. 1 that “it’s going to be up to city officials themselves to unplug the Flock cameras.” He added that Texas cities had already begun disconnecting.
The freeze did not dismantle the state network. The Department of Public Safety told the Tribune it would pause additional installations but keep existing cameras available for “legitimate public safety efforts.” An agency email showed at least 940 cameras installed as of Sept. 2.
The Tribune found roughly 615,000 searches in June, with 48% coming from outside Texas. After reporters questioned access by agencies without agreements, DPS said it would restrict searches and images to agencies with signed accords.
Dallas keeps more than 300
Dallas is scaling down, not leaving. As The Dallas Express previously reported, DPD will cancel 321 state-grant-funded cameras Sept. 15. Its three-year Flock authorization runs through June 14, 2028, and allows spending of up to $5.74 million from state, local and federal sources.
The department said more than 300 cameras funded from other sources will remain. “These cameras remain an important investigative tool and are used daily by detectives and officers to develop leads,” DPD said.
A City Council majority also rejected a nonbinding proposal to remove $1.5 million in local Flock funding during an Aug. 26 budget workshop. Dallas, therefore, represents a partial state-funding retreat, not a citywide shutdown.
Alleged misuse sharpens debate
Allegations in Lufkin illustrate the kind of misuse critics warn about. An Angelina County grand jury indicted then-officer Zachary Klein on 100 counts of misuse of official information after authorities accused him of running unauthorized Flock searches involving women. The charges remain allegations; Klein has not been convicted.
“While the investigations are ongoing, we have suspended the use of Flock cameras within the department,” Lufkin Police Chief Travis Brazil said in the department’s Aug. 20 statement.
Flock says customers own their data and control sharing. On Aug. 13, CEO Garrett Langley announced a recommended seven-day default retention period.
Flock said multifactor authentication was already mandatory and that case-code, audit and lockout controls would become mandatory by year’s end. Existing customers may retain different data periods.
Police agencies credit plate readers with recovering stolen vehicles, locating missing people and accelerating searches for suspects. Critics object to nationwide data sharing, disputed search controls, retention rules and systems that can track ordinary motorists without individualized suspicion.
The independently verified count shows a clear local retreat. At least 23 Texas cities and counties have pulled back, while DPS and Dallas maintain substantial networks. The fight now centers on who keeps access, who audits searches and whether state lawmakers will set enforceable limits.
Provided by Dallas Express
