Dallas Police To Shut Down Hundreds Of Flock Cameras

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times,

The police department in Dallas has announced it will shut down hundreds of Flock cameras due to a funding pause, making it another U.S. city to remove the controversial camera system.

The department said in a social media post on Sept. 1 that it received a notice that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a directive ending funding for Flock camera use.

Flock cameras are artificial intelligence (AI)-driven, automated license plate reader systems that capture vehicle details and license plates, with more than 120,000 cameras found throughout the United States. They have drawn online controversy over concerns regarding data privacy, surveillance overreach, and their potential misuse.

"These cameras remain an important investigative tool and are used daily by detectives and officers to develop leads, identify vehicles associated with criminal activity, and assist in solving crimes," the Dallas Police Department said on X.

It added that it will "continue evaluating available resources and technology to ensure our officers and detectives have effective tools to support investigations and enhance public safety."

Dallas Police officials said that 321 Flock cameras supported by grant funding will no longer be eligible, meaning they will be canceled effective Sept. 15. After the move, the department "will continue to have more than 300 Flock cameras operating throughout Dallas," according to its X post.

Last week, Abbott's office ordered all state agencies to pause funding to Flock camera systems, his spokesperson confirmed to the Texas Tribune.

"To the extent that cities get any funding for those cameras, most of it comes from the federal government. To the extent any funding comes from Texas agencies, those agencies are clarifying that those funds cannot be used for Flock cameras," Abbott spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris told the outlet.

Aside from Texas, Florida said on Monday that it would stop allowing Flock cameras on state highways. Meanwhile, two Arizona cities, Tempe and Cave Creek, said days before that they were canceling their Flock contracts.

Will Watts, chief operating officer of the Florida Department of Transportation, sent a memo on Aug. 31 stating that the state agency would revoke approvals for license plate readers, including Flock cameras.

Watts noted there was a "recent exponential increase" in deployments of law enforcement cameras and "concerning reports of misuse, data privacy concerns, and surveillance schemes" associated with those systems, according to the one-page memo.

Regarding the decision in Tempe, a Flock spokesperson told The Epoch Times in a statement last week that the company respects "the City's decision, even though Tempe has acknowledged that Flock helped officers do their jobs and found no improper use by its own police department."

"Flock has built the most accountable tool in police technology, and our technology gives communities control over how their systems are used, including the ability to adopt shorter data retention periods, strong access and auditing policies, and safeguards specifically designed to catch potential misuse," the spokesperson added.

More than 100 jurisdictions have canceled contracts with Flock and other automated license plate reader providers, according to a database from the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit law firm that says it aims to end government abuse of power.

The Epoch Times contacted Flock Safety for further comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.