CHANGE… FOR NOW: More Texas Cities End Flock Agreements, Cover Cameras.

The cities of Hewitt and Kyle are the latest in a slew of Texas localities opting out of involvement with Flock Safety cameras.

Hewitt’s recent decision to take down its Flock cameras comes as the Kyle City Council voted 4-3 to cover its cameras.

Flock’s automated license plate readers (ALPRs) use AI to scan license plates and save information about a vehicle, such as make, model, color, and other identifiers like cosmetic damage or bumper stickers.

Flock allows law enforcement officers to access its database without acquiring a warrant. This has raised concerns over potential violations of citizens’ Fourth Amendment rights.

“We ended our agreement with the ALPR vendor, which is Flock, and it’s due to the grant funding,” Hewitt City Manager Jim Devlin said. “We wanted to ensure that we didn’t later on receive a bill for funds that we didn’t have available.”

Devlin noted that Gov. Greg Abbott’s recent pause of state funding for Flock cameras played a crucial role in the decision.

But: “If it [the money] comes back and it’s something that’s viable for the city of Hewitt, it’s something that we’ll end up looking at,” Devlin noted.