/scanPublic safety
Texas cut state money for Flock cameras. The cameras are not gone.
Gov. Abbott ordered Texas agencies to stop funding Flock's AI license-plate cameras. The order cuts state money, not the cameras themselves.
- Observed threads
- 10
- Source clusters
- 4
- Observed
- Updated
What happened
On August 28, Abbott directed state agencies to pause and block funding for Flock Safety cameras, citing privacy concerns and reported misuse. Some cities were already cancelling contracts.
What triggered it
The Texas Tribune found a state authority had put at least $30 million into about 3,200 Flock cameras since 2023. A Lufkin officer faces 100 counts for allegedly using them to track 11 people.
What the order does not do
Local departments can keep running Flock cameras on local or federal money. The pause stops state funds only, so the network's future rests on local decisions.