More than 60 Flock surveillance cameras in western Harris County near Katy are offline. Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones ordered them decommissioned after residents raised privacy concerns about the license plate reader technology.
The shutdown came as Harris County Commissioners Court voted 3-2 on Thursday, Oct. 15, to form a working group rather than act immediately on the county's use of automated license plate readers, as first reported by Houston Public Media. The motion directs the Office of County Administration, county law enforcement and the Harris County Attorney's Office to return with contract amendment recommendations by February 2027.
Briones announced Oct. 8 that staff had physically covered and disconnected 61 cameras across nine Precinct 4 parks and facilities. The devices included 48 security cameras and 13 automated license plate readers, according to Hoodline. Briones said residents had questions about outside agencies accessing the data and news reports of improper searches by authorized users.
"I cannot wait to act," Briones said in a statement reported by Houston Public Media. "These Precinct 4 cameras are offline."
After the Oct. 15 vote, Briones said her office is withdrawing entirely from the county's master agreement for the technology.
A county report provided to precinct offices found it is unclear which outside agencies have access to data collected through the county's 154 cameras, according to Houston Public Media. Officials are not sure how many cameras operate across Harris County overall, though one estimate reaches 5,300.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo pushed to suspend all county-contracted Flock cameras until departments could answer her questions. She released an audit before the meeting showing only the Fire Marshal's Office and constables in Precincts 2, 7 and 8 had provided usage policies, CW39 reported. The Harris County Sheriff's Office said it would update its policy later.
Commissioners Adrian Garcia and Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey voted against the working group. Garcia said the sheriff's office could present a comprehensive policy as soon as the following week and argued the new group could interfere with one the sheriff's office already created. Ramsey called the cameras "proven technology" in an Oct. 8 social media post and emphasized his support for law enforcement's use of the tools, according to Community Impact.
Commissioner Rodney Ellis, who voted with the majority, said the two working groups should not conflict and called for some form of a pause while the county sorts out oversight.
The vote comes after multiple Flock camera misuse cases in the area. In August, three Harris County Sheriff's Office deputies were suspended from accessing the system for allegedly conducting unauthorized searches. A former Katy Police Department officer was indicted in Fort Bend County on a felony stalking charge for allegedly using department Flock cameras more than 2,300 times to track his ex-wife, according to Hoodline, citing KHOU reporting.
Harris County has renewed its Flock contract three times since 2023, most recently in May. The county approved an $868,975 annual contract through June 2027, according to Hoodline. Amending or suspending the agreement would require renegotiation and could carry removal charges.
The working group is set to report back to commissioners court by February 2027.
