Texas Scorecard reported that the Bastrop City Council voted Tuesday to end its contract with Flock Safety cameras. The vote came a week after the council unanimously agreed to cover its Flock cameras.
Why did Bastrop end the Flock contract?
City Manager Sylvia Carrillo-Trevino submitted the resolution to decommission the camera system and terminate the contract. Texas Scorecard says the council voted unanimously in favor of it.
Mayor Ishmael Harris said, as Texas Scorecard quotes him from local reporting, that there is "evidence that it [Flock] has helped us." He also pointed to misuse of the technology and concerns about privacy and data collection.
What does the restriction cover?
Texas Scorecard cites other reporting that Mayor Pro-Tem John Kirkland proposed wording that would bar the city from entering a new agreement for license plate reader services. It would also keep the Flock system from being reactivated without further council authorization.
- The wording does not name Flock Safety.
- Texas Scorecard does not say whether the final text kept Kirkland's language.
What changes for drivers in Bastrop?
The vote covers Bastrop's own camera system, which the resolution directs the city to decommission. Texas Scorecard does not say how many cameras Bastrop has or when the system goes dark.
Cameras run by a neighboring city, the county, the state, a business or an HOA are not part of this vote. Texas Scorecard does not say whether any agency near Bastrop uses Flock. You can check what is mapped in the camera map, and how plate readers work explains the technology.
What is the wider picture?
Texas Scorecard lists El Paso, Elgin and Wylie among the most recent Texas localities to reject, cancel or deactivate their Flock contracts or cameras. An Overton Insights poll from late August found that over 63 percent of Texans opposed Flock cameras.
Flock CEO Garrett Langley has pushed back on the criticism. He said "Flock does not own the data. Our customers do." Texas Scorecard reports that by default the data is stored for 30 days and then permanently deleted.
What happens next?
Texas lawmakers are expected to evaluate potential guardrails for the technology in the upcoming legislative session.