Cities in Four States Shut Off Flock Cameras

At least a dozen cities and counties across four states are pulling the plug on Flock Safety license plate cameras, and two states have moved against them at the state level.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state agencies last week to stop funding the cameras, citing privacy and Fourth Amendment concerns. Florida's Department of Transportation revoked permission for automated license plate readers on state highway rights-of-way.

Dallas police confirmed they will switch off 321 cameras on Sept. 15. Counties in Florida and Arizona are cancelling contracts, and both candidates for governor of Wisconsin now say they want limits.

Who Is Pulling The Plug

Texas. The Dallas Police Department said Tuesday that "three hundred twenty-one Flock cameras currently supported through affected state grant funding will no longer be eligible for that funding," and that it will cancel them effective Sept. 15, 2026. More than 300 cameras stay on in Dallas because they are paid for with federal grants Abbott's directive does not touch. Bastrop moved to cover its cameras immediately ahead of a council vote to terminate the city's contract, KXAN reported.

Florida. FDOT Chief Operating Officer Will Watts signed a memo revoking existing approvals and giving local agencies 30 days to take the cameras down, per Florida's Voice; the state will remove any left standing. Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco is ending a contract covering about 60 cameras by Sept. 30. Lake County commissioners voted Sept. 1 to remove all Flock cameras and plate readers from county right-of-way, Commissioner Anthony Sabatini said. The Miami-Dade sheriff is taking Flock cameras down "suspended in its entirety," the Miami Herald reported. Tampa police are pulling 17 plate readers while Hillsborough County reviews the fallout, Florida Politics reported. At least 100 Florida agencies have signed Flock contracts in recent years, according to reporting citing Electronic Frontier Foundation records.

Arizona. Pinal County Sheriff Ross Teeple said Aug. 5 he would not renew his office's contract when it expires at the end of September, citing Fourth Amendment concerns; the county Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 on Aug. 12 to terminate the right-of-way agreement. Tempe, Cave Creek, Chandler and South Tucson have discontinued use, ended contracts or let them lapse, The Epoch Times reported.

Wisconsin. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley signed an executive order Tuesday limiting how long the county stores Flock data and restricting who can access or share it.

The Objection

The cameras photograph passing cars and capture plate numbers, vehicle descriptions and time stamps, then feed that into databases agencies can search and share. Critics say a permanent log of where every driver goes is not the same as a patrol car running a plate.

Watts cited an "exponential increase" in deployments plus reports of misuse, privacy problems and "surveillance schemes," writing that action was needed "to preserve Floridians' sovereignty and quality of life," ABC News reported.

There are documented misuse cases. In April, a Lufkin, Texas, police officer was indicted on 100 counts related to alleged misuse of Flock data.

Police say the systems work. Dallas police stressed the remaining cameras are an important investigative tool used to develop leads, identify vehicles tied to crime and solve cases.

Flock's Response

Flock Safety did not comment to ABC News on Florida's order and did not respond to The Epoch Times' request for comment.

The company states on its website that it applies strict privacy measures, including limiting data storage to seven days, that it will never share or sell data to third parties, and that "the customer is the only one to determine who has access to the footage." Flock says more than 5,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide have access to its database.