Gov. Greg Abbott has blocked state agencies from spending money on Flock cameras, but the Texas Department of Public Safety has no apparent plans to stop using its existing roadside surveillance cameras.
As police agencies scramble to adjust to the loss of millions in state grants for Flock cameras, DPS maintains its own far-reaching network of hundreds of AI-powered cameras that compile identifying information on tens of thousands of vehicles each day.
Neither DPS, nor Flock Safety, disclose how many cameras are run by the state agency, though an email shared by a lawmaker on social media shows at least 940 DPS cameras had been installed as of Wednesday. The surveillance reach of the DPS Flock cameras extends far beyond the agency because its data is shared with thousands of Flock users across the state and beyond.
Once every four seconds, on average, DPS’s surveillance network is accessed by a law enforcement agency somewhere in the United States to search for specific license plates or probe for a vehicle based on its make, model, color or other characteristics, according to a Texas Tribune review of a month of searches.
That analysis of the roughly 615,000 searches using the DPS network in June found:
- 48% of queries came from outside Texas, including tens of thousands from Florida and Georgia law enforcement agencies that were conducting nationwide searches of Flock networks.
- Searches were conducted by 3,075 agencies, 396 in Texas and 2,679 from out of state.
- Houston Police had the most searches with 13%, and DPS officers accounted for just under 9%.
- More than 58,000 searches were conducted for “traffic infractions,” including some listed for running stop signs or following cars too closely. Other searched categories included auto theft, missing persons and drug offenses.
- 111 searches listed Homeland Security Investigations, Customs and Border Protection and other immigration-related details, including “ICE deportation warrant,” as reasons for the query.
In July, DPS told the Tribune only law enforcement agencies that signed agreements with the department could access its Flock data. At the time, 206 Texas law enforcement departments had such agreements.
After the Tribune asked why more than 2,800 agencies had searched its network without agreements, DPS said Thursday it will begin limiting access to data from its automated license plate readers, or ALPRs, to agencies with the agreements. “Law enforcement agencies that did not have signed agreements with DPS could previously access DPS’ ALPR network to look up specific and full license plate numbers only. Moving forward, only law enforcement agencies with signed agreements with DPS will be able to conduct searches of any type to access data and images,” the agency said in a statement.
Asked if Abbott’s directive affected the state police force’s camera network, a DPS spokesperson said it will pause installing additional cameras. But a spokesperson said the agency will continue using existing cameras for a variety of “legitimate public safety efforts.”
Flock camera contracts are a recurring expense, and DPS did not respond to questions about how it plans to fund them long term without state dollars.
In recent years, DPS has amassed a sweeping network of car-scanning devices along roads leading into neighboring states, along major highways and on state-controlled streets.
Abbott’s order blocking state agencies from spending money on Flock cameras came Aug. 27, amid the Tribune’s inquiries about a small state agency tapping at least $30 million from a fund dedicated to catalytic converter theft to help pay for at least 3,200 Flock cameras for law enforcement agencies across the state. Six of the seven board members of the Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority are appointed by Abbott.
The authority in early 2025 signed a $15.9 million contract with DPS to fund almost 1,200 cameras.
In addition, the authority agreed in August — before Abbott’s directive — to give DPS an additional $3 million to blanket seven Texas toll roads with 583 more Flock cameras.
Texas is estimated to have at least 13,000 Flock cameras and another 1,000 similar devices, according to DeFlock, an anti-surveillance watchdog that uses verified crowd sourcing to publicize the location of license plate readers.
Texas’ funding block came days before Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis banned all Flock cameras from state highways. Abbott has been less explicit, saying he’s leaving it up to locals to decide whether to take down cameras purchased with state money.
“Most of the money for Flock cameras actually comes from the federal government and is used at the city level, and things like that, and so it’s going to be up to city officials themselves to unplug the Flock cameras,” Abbott said Monday. “However, what has already been observed is that cities across the state are already unplugging from Flock cameras.”
Lawmakers from across the political spectrum have begun pressing Abbott to ban the cameras outright. Abbott’s Democratic opponent in the Nov. 3 election, state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, has blamed Abbott in ads and on social media for enabling “warrantless surveillance” throughout the state.
Hinojosa, D-Austin, said in an interview that DPS and law enforcement should take down cameras because they can be easily abused and were not authorized by state legislators. She’s not completely against the technology, however, arguing that surveillance plays a role with border security.
“If DPS is going to use them along the border for border security, that’s different, but that’s not my understanding of how they’re being used,” Hinojosa said.
Limiting access to state-funded cameras
Agreements allowing access to DPS Flock data outline responsibilities for securely handling the information by local departments and DPS. The state agency clarified Thursday that prior to the new limits on network access, agencies without signed agreements were able to look up specific license plates captured by DPS Flock cameras.
Agencies can also automatically opt in to sharing access to their networks when joining regional or national lookups through Flock. Jacob Herbert, a corporal with the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia, told the Tribune that all searches of the DPS network were national in scope and not focused on Texas.
Coweta County’s 6,700 searches in June made it the top out-of-state department to access the Texas cameras.
“Our investigators use nationwide searches when they have a legitimate investigative need to locate a subject or vehicle and do not have sufficient information to limit the search geographically,” Herbert said in a statement. “The purpose is to identify potential leads regardless of where a subject or vehicle may have traveled.”
The Texas Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority agreed to help fund and support the DPS network in part to make it available to police across the state.
“This project — yes, it’s under the Texas Department of Public Safety, but this was done for the locals,” Sharon Jones, a DPS major and former vehicle authority board member, said during a March meeting. “This was done for those agencies in the cities or in the counties who do not have the authority to install cameras on state highways, state roadways. So that’s what that project is for.”
A spokesperson for the vehicle authority told the Tribune in August that it understood DPS required agencies to sign agreements before accessing the cameras they funded.
Local funding in disarray
Vehicle authority grants helped maintain at least 2,000 cameras beyond the DPS network, and Abbott’s directive left dozens of city and county law enforcement agencies scrambling to assess the impact on their camera systems. More than $10.9 million from the vehicle authority to local agencies for 2027 were intended for Flock cameras and software, a review of accepted grants found.
El Paso announced Thursday that it will stop using its 150 Flock cameras — all of which were installed and supported with vehicle authority grants — because of the state funding block. Dallas police also announced Tuesday that they will shut down 321 state-funded Flock cameras paid for with grants from the vehicle authority and an anti-gang initiative.
Killeen police told the Tribune they were still “awaiting any formal guidance” on the future of 76 cameras installed under a vehicle authority grant.
“Until the state provides additional guidance, it would be premature to speculate about whether any cameras will need to be discontinued or whether alternative funding will be necessary,” Killeen police chief Pedro Lopez said in a statement.
The vehicle authority has yet to release public guidance on how its grants or contracts have been affected by Abbott’s order, and its next meeting is set for Oct. 13.
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