What to know about Flock cameras in Bexar County
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
Activists and residents across the political spectrum — including in communities around San Antonio — are pushing back against license plate readers made by Flock Safety and similar companies, fueled by privacy concerns.
Why it matters: Advocates say the cameras help quickly track down criminals, making cities safer. Opponents say they're a form of constant surveillance that infringes on residents' civil liberties.
The big picture: Flock has more than 120,000 cameras nationwide, the company tells Axios.
How it works: Automated license plate readers are placed along streets and highways and capture license plates, vehicle makes and other features.
Zoom in: The Bexar County Sheriff's Office (BCSO) Flock network includes 35 cameras, though not all are currently operating, sheriff's deputy Joshua Hamby tells Axios. Some cameras have been vandalized, stolen or damaged, while other installations have faced permitting delays, he says.
- BCSO can also receive images from privately owned Flock cameras when businesses and other users choose to share them with law enforcement.
- Hamby says Flock-generated leads have helped identify suspects in armed robberies, homicides and stolen vehicle and narcotics cases in recent weeks.
By the numbers: BCSO's cameras recorded 707,606 license plates over the last 30 days, per the county's dashboard. Investigators can search those detections for vehicle characteristics, such as color and distinguishing features, to find potential matches, Hamby says.
- The system generated 3,221 hotlist hits — alerts for plates associated with stolen or wanted vehicles, missing people, or other law enforcement notices.
- Law enforcement conducted 530 searches.
State of play: Nearby Hill Country communities are pushing back.
- Bandera canceled its Flock program in May after months of public opposition, while a petition calling for the removal of cameras in Kendall County has drawn hundreds of signatures.
- Burnet County recently removed Flock cameras after repeated vandalism.
The latest: Flock said Thursday it's strengthening privacy, security and accountability features amid the backlash.
- The company is making misuse detection mandatory and recommending seven-day data retention instead of 30-day retention.
- Flock says its technology aided about 1 million police investigations last year and helped find about 10,000 missing people.
The other side: DeFlock, a national group advocating against the cameras, argues the technology amounts to unconstitutional surveillance.
- "No guardrails. No regulations. No 'only if they really need to' pinky promises. It's a 4th amendment violation. Full Stop. They are coming down," the group posted on X in response to Thursday's announcement.
What we're watching: Whether BCSO changes its 30-day data retention policy as Flock rolls out its new safeguards.
- Hamby says he is unsure if the agency plans to change it.