The Houston Chronicle reported that Conroe's City Council voted 3-2 to accept the city's $389 million budget for 2027, including the funding for the city's Flock Safety cameras, which are license plate readers. The vote came after police defended the cameras at the council's Thursday meeting.
Conroe Police Chief Jon Buckholtz called the cameras an effective crime-fighting tool the city should keep using. He said no one in the department has accessed the camera data without a specific law enforcement reason. "I have seen no evidence of misuse," he said.
Why did two council members vote no?
Councilman David Hairel read a prepared statement asking the council to pause Flock funding and review how the technology is used. He called the cameras a surveillance system that raises unresolved constitutional questions, and said they represent "a fundamentally different kind of governmental power."
Councilwoman Shana Arthur said she supports law enforcement but wants to protect residents' civil liberties. Hairel and Arthur were the only no votes.
What do the camera numbers show?
- Conroe has contracted with Flock since 2019. The city is one year into a five-year contract.
- Funding for the cameras in 2027 is about $130,000, Buckholtz said.
- Over the last 30 days, cameras in Conroe recorded about 894,000 unique plates. Investigators searched 642 of them.
- Buckholtz pointed to a March ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which affirmed a lower court finding that police use of Flock data does not violate the Fourth Amendment.
The Houston Chronicle does not say how many cameras Conroe operates.
What changes for drivers?
The budget vote funds the city's Flock contract for 2027. About a month before that vote, the council rejected a proposal to ask voters in November whether the city should keep using Flock.
To see mapped cameras near you, use the camera map. For background on how these readers work, read how plate readers work.
What happens next?
Hairel said the current Flock contract expires at the end of the month.